Heart of a Demon
by David Jaxon
Summary: After 8 years of struggle, Naruto finally accomplishes his most important mission. And now he has to deal with the aftermath. Check Profile for Status.
1. Regrets

I don't own anything that has to do with Naruto. The plot of this story, and most of the history that is depicted in this fic are the only original ideas that I have.

-Chapter 1. Regrets.-

Uzumaki Naruto. Shinobi of Konohagakure. Recently promoted to Anbu, given the uncomfortably fitting name of Fox. Slowly, gradually closing in on his ultimate goal of becoming the Rokudaime Hokage.

However, today, all of his hope, all of his dreams, every single up in his life gave way to a pair of unfortunate circumstances on this day.

The first, and most obvious of these circumstances was the fact that today was October 10, the day that he was conceived and condemned at the same time.

Though the 'surprise' that he had received on that day caused his usually depressed mood towards this day to sink even lower.

Even though it had been half a year ago, it had seemed like yesterday that he had finally dragged his first true friend back to Konoha. It came to a bloody, violent end when Naruto and Sasuke, intentional or not, worked together to finally take out Uchiha Itachi, ending Sasuke's war against his brother.

After finally bringing him back, after spending a month in the hospital, and after a meeting among the elders, clan heads, and the Hokage herself, in which Sasuke was reluctantly excused for all transgressions on the pretext that he acted within the best interests of his clan, which would in turn, only improve Konoha, Sasuke was reinstated as a Shinobi of Konoha.

Naruto had received a wide array of reactions to bringing back the official last Uchiha back to the village. The elders, although they still resented him because it was him, still had to respect the fact that he had accomplished his mission, and looked at him with begrudging indifference, a good reprieve from the usual glares that they gave him, though not by much. The Shinobi of Konoha openly acknowledged the fact that he had brought back one of the geniuses of Konoha. His friends all had different reactions to this, but they all basically said the same thing, "Good job, Naruto."

Rock Lee hadn't changed. Looking at him was still the same as looking at a smaller Maito Gai. He still trained constantly, recently surpassing his sensei's expectations and opening the eight gate far earlier than Gai had ever dreamed of. He still wore that appallingly green jumpsuit, hiate-ate wrapped around his waist, absurdly heavy weights on his legs concealed by those orange leg-warmers, eyebrows still incredibly bushy, hair still in one of the most 'unique' bowl-cuts ever seen in the world. The only truly normal part of his appearance was the Jonin vest that he proudly wore.

He had been one of his loudest supporters on his return with Sasuke, though he did quiet down just long enough to whisper to Naruto, "Good job. You kept your promise to Sakura-san." He gave him the most discreet 'Nice Guy Pose' that he could muster, though the gleam that came off of the perfect teeth of Lee left Naruto rubbing his eyes for the next hour.

Hyuuga Neji had become involved in the training of Hyuuga Hanabi, the current heir of the Hyuuga clan. Naruto had noticed how much the Hyuuga genius had changed since their fight during the Chuunin exams, evident by how he had laid off of his cousin over the years. Neji had also acknowledged Naruto's accomplishment, although he seemed completely indifferent towards the situation.

Ten Ten, also a Jonin, had taken a part time job at the academy to teach the students about basic all around weapons that every ninja uses. She had tried, on numerous occasions, to win the heart, or at least the attention, of a certain teammate, but eventually gave up, realizing a lost cause when she saw one. She too supported Naruto.

Aburame Shino was just as mysterious as he had always been, and only gave Naruto a short nod upon his return. Naruto wasn't exactly sure what to make of the Jonin bug user's reaction, but decided to simply pass it off as a good mark for him.

Hyuuga Hinata. Naruto didn't think that there was any question as to how the timid Hyuuga would react to anything he did. And although he was still oblivious to something that was blindingly obvious to everyone else, that being the recently promoted Jonin's undying affection for him, he still respected the girl for her complete trust and confidence in him and his abilities.

Inuzuka Kiba. He and his faithful partner, Akamaru, were training with his older sister, Hana, in becoming professional trackers, and eventually succeeding his sister. He had also joined the ranks of Konoha's Anbu squad, as he felt that his abilities would be much more useful, and probably more appreciated, there. As one of the ninjas who were on the original Sasuke Retrieval mission, he still harbored some hostility towards the last Uchiha. So while he still accepted what Naruto had done in the name of Konoha, he did so with a very angry scowl, though he made it very clear to Naruto that it wasn't directed at him.

Nara Shikamaru had already established himself as quite possibly the laziest ninja in Konoha since Nara Shikaku, so the simple fact that he was the first of the Konoha 12, if you choose to include Sasuke, to be promoted to Chuunin was already a fact that still blew Naruto's mind. Then he was promoted to Jonin. Then he was given a Genin team to look after. The only upside to that would be the fact that he was given the next generation Ino-Shika-Cho trio as a team. "Such a troublesome team to have to deal with," Naruto remembered him saying. "But at least they were born to be able to work together, right?"

His reaction to Sasuke's return was little different from his reaction to everything else. "It is kinda troublesome that you had to accomplish this mission about 8 years too late, but at least you did."

Akimichi Choji, also Jonin, simply nodded his head in agreement with Shikamaru, whilst shoving another handful of chips into his mouth. Naruto simply smiled and asked if he wanted to join him in a celebratory visit to Ichiraku Ramen later that day.

Yamanaka Ino was doing quite well for herself. Though if you can call being the only apprentice to Morino Ibiki, Head of the Anbu Torture and Interrogation Force, the most sadistic bastard that Naruto had ever laid eyes upon, doing quite well for yourself, you must be either just as sadistic, or equally as insane. Naruto figured that Ino was the former, though he would never tell her that to her face. After all, he had a lot to be thankful for because of Ino.

She was the one who had pushed for his acceptance into the Anbu, being an Anbu herself, and she was always there whenever he needed a helping hand with something or if Kiba wasn't around. He wasn't sure just why she was doing this, but he could remember that it started around the time he confessed that the main reason that he was trying to bring Sasuke back was because of a promise he made to Sakura. Ino, who had already given up on Sasuke immediately after she heard of his defection, immediately took pity on the boy. She figured that he knew that if he brought Sasuke back, Sakura would not leave his side. And considering how long he had been chasing after her, that must not have been an easy thing to admit to himself.

So she made herself visible to him. After all, he was everything that a woman would want. Strong, good-looking, extremely caring and determined to whatever he set his mind to, and fun loving. Granted, his undying love for Ramen was still something that she would eventually have to fix on him, she was up for any challenge that would present itself to her for the sake of her friend. The fact that he never responded to her subtle advances never once deterred her. Though her advances did come less and less.

Haruno Sakura. Her reaction had completely thrown Naruto off. Simply because there was no reaction. The moment he stepped through the gates, an injured and unconscious Sasuke on his shoulders, she had immediately taken Sasuke to the hospital, completely ignoring Naruto's presence. Naruto didn't blame her then; after all, if he were in her shoes, he probably would have done the same thing.

Then the month came and went. Sasuke was finally cleared to leave the hospital, and Sakura was with him, practically every step of the way. What really got to Naruto was the fact that Sakura hadn't said a word to him during the entire month. Sure she was needed at the hospital to make sure that the Uchiha genius survived, but whenever he would stop by to visit, Sakura would simply get up and walk out of the room, claiming to have other work to do.

The five months after Sasuke was released were torture for Naruto. Every time he attempted to talk with Sakura, she would run off, saying that she was going to visit Sasuke, just to make sure that he was ok. Then there were the countless missions that Sakura had requested that she and Sasuke do, under the pretext that he needed to 'get back into the groove. She also requested that it be them alone, as he didn't need to be around too many faces that he was hostile towards at the moment, once again leaving Naruto out of the loop, which only further pushed him in the direction of Anbu. It also didn't help that the Elders saw fit to give Sasuke the rank of Jonin as soon as he was healthy enough to do missions.

But all of that were just drops in the lake compared to the atomic bomb that Sakura had just dropped into Naruto that morning.

He had just come out of the Ichiraku Ramen booth for his morning serving of Ramen, thankful for once that it was indeed festival day as most of the villagers were in the newer parts of town either preparing the festival, or preparing for the festival. He was about to head for the Hokage tower and see if Tsunade had some kind of mission for him. Anything to keep him away from the village for the day. However, to his immediate shock, he saw Sakura running up to him, looking like a school girl that had just been asked by the most popular guy in the academy to the dance. "Naruto!"

He smiled widely. 'Sakura-chan is actually talking to me. I can't believe it.' "Hi, Sakura-chan. Is there something you needed?"

Sakura caught her breath before finally looking up at Naruto and, speaking in an overly excited tone, said, "Sasuke and I are getting married."

And that leads us to the present. Naruto, sitting on top of the Yondaime Hokage's stone head, looking down at the village as it carried on with its day long festival. Never before had he felt so depressed. Even his dream of one day becoming Hokage couldn't lighten the mood for the blond-haired boy.

Somewhere deep within him, part of him actually knew that this was how it would turn out. No matter what he did, no matter who he had hurt, Sasuke still remained the center of the Konoha universe. Yes, there were a few there who shared his opinions that Sasuke shouldn't have been treated like he was some sort of God, but in comparison to the overwhelming number of Uchiha supporters, they might as well been ants in a jungle.

The years since he had graduated from the academy had given him time to find something that many said that he didn't have, though he only begun actively searching for it during his 2 and a half year training venture with Jiraiya; The part of his brain that dealt with thinking. And although it may not have seemed that way to many, if not all, of his peers, he did indeed think about the things that happened around him. After all, he seriously doubted that he wouldn't have made the promise to Sakura if he hadn't been thinking about how she felt about the Uchiha traitor.

So, on top of the Hokage monument, he tried and tried to think about what the Village, what Sakura had seen in the boy so much, that they were willing to completely excuse all of his sins, all of his transgressions, even going so far as to promote him? Yes, they may have been friends, and yes, he may have forgiven his friend for what he did, but he was also completely conscious that if it had been him that had committed all of these acts, he wouldn't have even been let back into the village. He had spent damn near his whole life trying to reach the point that he is now. The glares came less and less, the open insults diminished to almost nothing, and the elders accepted him enough to allow him to rise in the ranks of Shinobi. And yet, Sasuke basically spit on the name of Konoha, but just about everyone welcomed him back with open arms.

His thoughts carried him back to Sakura, but it didn't take much thought to figure her out. He basically summed her up in one sentence. "I never had a chance with her." He wasn't exactly sure when her heart became so dead set on winning over the last Uchiha. Most of the time after and during their academy years, her affections towards Sasuke were simply puppy love. However, some time during their Team 7 time, she had grown something more for the boy. And as much as Naruto had wished that she would have let it go and turned her attention to him, somewhere, he knew that it would not be possible.

So here he was, atop the massive visage of the fourth, looking down upon the village that accepted Sasuke but shunned him all because of who they were.

-In another part of the village-

"Where the hell is he?"

Clad in her usual purple tank top and purple skirt with black shorts underneath, because she felt that the standard issue Anbu uniform she had been given should only be worn when doing actual Anbu worthy missions, Yamanaka Ino strolled her way through the streets of Konoha, searching for another blonde haired, blue eyed Anbu member. Considering that there was a giant festival going on, she would have thought that, in spite of the sheer number of people that would be in attendance, it would have been easy to find the only ninja that wore colors that made Rock Lee look like an actual ninja. However she was shocked, and slightly perturbed, to find that her colleague was nowhere to be found.

She had asked a few people at the festival if any of them had seen him anywhere, and though she had gotten simple 'I don't knows' from her friends, she became somewhat confused with some of the older generations, which began with "That brat had better not show his face here," and only got worse as she went on.

She had spent some time with Naruto before his induction into the Anbu, even before he admitted his reasons for wanting to bring back Sasuke, so she was not completely oblivious to the glares and stares that he received from the villagers. Back during their Genin days, she had simply passed it of as their reaction towards all of his pranks. Which she thought wasn't all that bad. His remodeling of the Hokage monument actually prodded a nice fit of laughter from her.

Anyway, as the years went by, the memories of his past, good-humored pranks gave way to an avalanche of surprising deeds from the boy, including the completion of his first C rank, up-graded to B rank, mission, the first among the three rookie teams, and his unexpected victory over last year's number one rookie, the Hyuuga genius, Hyuuga Neji. However, the stares continued to come to him.

Even after his 2 and a half year training trip, they came, though not in the numbers that they usually came in. At first, she thought that it was extremely childish for them to continue to hold a grudge against him simply because of some harmless pranks that he made when he was younger. This was about the time when she began to suspect that there was some sort of deeper reason towards their hate for Naruto. It only seemed a little strange that he always seemed to disappear on this particular day.

Ino, however, wasn't going to put up with her partner's mood anymore. When her partner wasn't in a good mood, his performance suffered greatly, which meant that their team suffered as well. No, today she would make sure that her teammate would have at least a halfway decent time today. Now if only she could find him.

After an hour of searching, she began to use at least a little bit of her intuition. "Ok, he isn't in his apartment, he isn't at the ramen shop, and the Hokage hasn't seen him all day, so he wasn't out on any missions. So where else could he be?" She closed her eyes for a minute, collecting her thoughts, then opened them back up and took off. "If I were as obsessed with becoming Hokage as he was, where would I go to be alone?"

Her answer led her to the top of the Hokage monument, and sitting on top of the head of the Yondaime was Uzumaki Naruto.

She was extremely grateful that his choice of clothing had taken a turn for the better since he came back. She remembered when he returned to Konoha after his training trip with Jiraiya. His clothing, while still atrociously orange, had been extremely toned down since his academy and Genin years, and he had all but eliminated it from his clothing altogether with his present uniform, though it was still present in the form of streaks down the sides of his black pants, which continued up the sides of his black sleeveless shirt, and on to the shoulders. 'He actually looks like a real ninja now.' She remembered thinking to herself when she saw his new outfit.

She walked up behind him not bothering to conceal her presence from him. "Oi, Naruto."

Naruto stiffened for a second before turning his head back to greet her. "Oh, hey there Ino. What are you doing here?"

After spending just a little bit of time with the boy, Yamanaka Ino, being the expert reader of faces that she was training to be, already knew about the mask that Naruto had tried to put on at that moment. She was also aware of the fact that whatever was plaguing him would come out whenever he was ready to let it out. So she simply carried on the conversation as if everything were normal. "Looking for you, you idiot. Why else would I be coming up here all by myself? And before you ask, the reason I came here looking for you is because I figured that a Hokage obsessed person like yourself would probably find this place to be most comforting."

Naruto let out a light laugh before scratching the back of his head. "Yea, I suppose you got me there. It is a great place to be. If I could, I'd probably live up here."

Ino took a seat next to him and stared out over the village. "Yea, it is an awesome view. I remember the last time I was up here, when we were trying to stop that Gennou guy. I didn't get a chance to truly appreciate the view that you can get from up here then."

Naruto simply nodded at the statement. This caused Ino to look over at him a little more. Even though she knew that there was indeed the mask, a silent Naruto was not something that she could deal with. "Listen, I'm sorry if I brought up a sore subject for you. Sakura told me about how close you were to him."

She didn't miss the slight tensing up that occurred in her teammate when she mentioned the pink-haired medical-nin. 'So it's about billboard brow.' "What is it, Naruto?"

Naruto then looked over at her, allowing a bit of his mask to come off, revealing just a hint of sadness in his eyes. Ino's eyes widened. He had never let this amount of pure emotion show in front of anyone that she could remember, much less her.

"Sakura and Sasuke are getting married."

Ino was, to say the least, shocked. Not because Sasuke had decided to marry Sakura. She saw that one coming from a mile away. No, her shock came from the fact that she had been completely wrong about Naruto. 'He still thought that he had a chance with forehead?' This would be one opinion that she wouldn't keep to herself however. "And you are surprised by this? Despite everything that has happened, everything that Sasuke has done, the village as a whole still accepts him as a ninja. From what I have seen, Sakura has spent more time with him than she has with her own family. You should have known way before you brought him back that she wasn't going to give up on him." She turned her head away from him and sighed. "I knew you were an idiot but I had no idea that you could be this idiotic."

"Yeah, I know. Pathetic, aren't I?" Ino turned her eyes back to him, now hugging his knees to his chest, hiding most of his face behind his knees. Only his eyes were visible. "Even though part of me knew that no matter how good I treated her, no matter how many favors I did for her, no matter how many time I saved her life, she would only seem me as a friend, I continued to chase after her, hoping that she would just forget about him and turn to me." He let out and small, sarcastic laugh. "What a wild goose chase that turned out to be huh?"

Ino started to feel bad for her partner, and then remembered why she was up here in the first place. It was bad enough that he was feeling like crap, but the fact that it was starting to rub off on her was not something she was going to accept. She stood up and turned to him in a manner not unlike a mother would when she was demanding her child to go outside and play rather than stay in and watch TV all day. "All right, that's it! Uzumaki Naruto, you are coming with me." She grabbed his arm and pulled him to his feet in a not so gentle manner.

Naruto was immediately dragged out of his depression by her sudden actions. "Huh? Hey, Ino? Where are we going?" He had managed to get in step with her pace after a few feet of stumbling while she dragged him along. "I really don't feel like going to the festival today."

"I know. That's why we aren't going to the festival." She walked along the path leading down to the village, an arm wrapped around the arm of a semi-reluctant Naruto. "You are going to take me to get something to eat. And you are going to pay for the both of us."

Now Naruto got scared. "But Ino, you already know about-"

Ino cut him off right there. "Yes I already know about what the villagers think of you." She remembered the reaction that he had received from one of her favorite restaurants. They had just come back from a particularly gruesome mission in the land of water, and they were, to say the least, a little hungry. She had suggested one of her regular spots, and although he had his initial misgivings about it, which she simply attributed to his ramen obsession, he eventually gave in to her wishes.

At first it was just the man that was supposed to show them to their seats. The moment he saw Naruto, he walked straight up to them, and in the most sincere voice that he could force out of his mouth, said, "I'm sorry, but we are completely booked for the night."

Ino stole a glance over his shoulder, and was not surprised to see that there were indeed rows of empty tables in the restaurant. She came here all of the time, as this was one of the healthier restaurants in the village, so she was well aware of the amount of customers that they received at certain times. And aside from the fact that it was never usually full at this time of day, the restaurant didn't take reservations either. Apparently, he was a new employee, and wasn't aware of her frequent visits. "Don't kid around with me. You don't take reservations, and there are plenty of open tables for us. Just show us to our seats."

He allowed his true feelings to show through and sent an angry scowl towards Naruto. "We do not serve the likes of _him_. And if you wish to take his side, then I suggest that you leave right along with him."

Ino was angry, to say the least, and would have unleashed Hell upon the poor, unsuspecting soul if Naruto hadn't picked that moment to speak up. "It's ok, Ino. I don't mind. I'll see ya tomorrow, ok?" And with that he jumped on to a nearby building and bounded off to his apartment.

She watched him jump off slightly worried about her teammate. 'That was weird. It's almost as if he was used to this kind of reaction.' She felt her anger return tenfold when she heard the man say, "Oh, how about that? One of our reservations just canceled. Shall I show you to your seat?"

There is now a picture of her in front of the restaurant, banning her from ever entering.

So she was familiar with his reluctance for eating in other places. And as much as she didn't want to, this was supposed to be about cheering him up. "That is why you are going to treat me to…" She inwardly cringed at the fact that she was even considering this, but swallowed hard and said, "Ichiraku Ramen."

"………" Naruto stared at her in complete shock, even as he allowed her to pull her along with him.

"What's the matter with you?" Ino felt his stare upon her.

"You never want to eat ramen with me. Every time I ask you, you always say that you want to 'keep your perfect figure' and go somewhere else."

"Maybe I just haven't given it a fair chance before." She looked back at him with a friendly smile.

All Naruto could do was smile back.

"Besides I would think that you would actually like to enjoy your birthday for once."

Naruto stopped right there. "You…… know?"

She turned around and faced him. "I did a little digging and eventually found it out. Though I was surprised to find that your birthday and the festival were on the same day."

He just gave a light smile and nodded at her.

"So today, I will ensure that you actually have a happy birthday." She sighed and grabbed his arm. "Tell you what. Since it is your birthday, it will be all the ramen that you can eat, on me."

Naruto smiled a little wider, and Ino was glad to see that it wasn't forced, wasn't just a mask to try to hide his true feelings. 'There is still something there, but at least I can make him forget about it for now.'

-End Chapter 1-

Ok, this is my first crack at a Naruto fic. I would like to make a full story out of it and I already have an idea as to how I want to play this story out. So please tell me if you would like to see more of this story. Thanks.


	2. A Prankster's Return

-Chapter 2: A Prankster's Return-

Yamanaka Ino's attempt to help Naruto return to his normal self had become something of a three way staring contest.

The first was with the bowl of Miso Ramen that was sitting in front of her. Yes, she was suppose to be here for Naruto, but the closer that she had gotten to the ramen stand, the more she was beginning to doubt her own judgment. 'Is it really worth it? After all, I have been voted #1 healthiest ninja 5 years running. Am I really going to jeopardize that just so Naruto can be happy?'

Then she had engaged in a staring contest with the boy sitting next to her, inhaling his 4th bowl of barbeque beef ramen, and although his eating methods made her want to vomit what little she kept in her stomach, she was extremely grateful that he was at least eating the way he usually did. She had indeed bore witness to his usual eating ritual during some of their extended missions as Anbu. No matter what the situation was, he ate the same way every time; high in quantity, and with much gusto. During their last mission, however, he had toned down his eating severely. When she asked about it, he simply replied that he 'thought he should enjoy his ramen for once.' She didn't buy it one bit, especially considering that he had been deathly silent for the entire mission.

Yes, she was glad that he had begun eating the same way he used to. She even welcomed the obscenely loud slurping noises that accompanied this.

Her staring then turned to the people that were serving them. She hadn't met them personally before, but she was grateful to them for numerous reasons.

As a boy, Ino had remembered with a slight tinge of guilt, Naruto never had any real friends. She had seen him on the playground many times, and although he did play with Kiba, Shikamaru, and Choji, it would never really last as their parent's always scolded him for going near their kids. The only reason her parents never scolded him was the simple fact that she never went near him to begin with. Part of her regretted never doing so for his sake, and yet another part of her was glad that she never did, also for his sake. Her father was neutral towards him, but her mother was particularly strict towards him. And seeing as she was the one who usually came to pick her up, she would have been damned if she allowed him to go through the torture of listening to her mother yell at him. She had already experienced it more than enough, and it was far more torturous than going through her father's mind training.

Iruka-sensei was one of the only adults that actually accepted him, but she didn't really count him, as most of the older ninja community was generally neutral towards him.

The only real people that he felt comfortable around were the people who ran the ramen stand. Teuchi and his daughter Ayame were actually grateful for his presence, and not just because he was one of their most reliable customers. They were kind of like and uncle and aunt to him, giving him small little pieces of advice whenever he needed it, sometimes even allowing him to sleep in the shop whenever he couldn't go home when a few of the villagers got particularly rowdy and surrounded his apartment, waiting to stone the boy, not necessarily to death, but as close as they could.

She immediately put these people on her 'people that I will admire for the rest of my life' list.

"Hey Ino, your ramen is going to get cold, and trust me. Cold ramen is not something you even want to attempt to eat." Naruto spoke, thankfully without a full mouth.

Ino turned her attention back to the ramen. True she wanted to keep her perfect figure, and yes she had purchased the healthiest bowl of ramen that the old man had on the menu, but as she stared down at the bowl of noodles, her past words began to come back to her. "Maybe I just haven't given it a fair chance before." While she had tried it once after the whole Gennou situation, (She was becoming rather curious as to how many times that mission was coming back to her) she didn't really pay it any mind then. Now, thanks to Naruto, she was getting ready to take her first true dive into the world of Ichiraku Ramen.

She picked up her set of chopsticks, broke them apart into two perfect pieces, to which Naruto loudly congratulated her on as he could never get them to break in two as cleanly as she could. Gave a silent "Ikadakimasu," and took her first bite out of the bowl of boiled noodles.

Then she took another bite, slightly faster than her first one.

And before long, she was cheerfully chewing into her bowl of Miso ramen. "Wow! This is really good. I can't believe I haven't been here more."

Naruto smiled widely and finished slurping up the last of the juice. "I don't care what anyone says. There is nothing better than Ichiraku Ramen. Oi, Ayame-nee-chan. I hope you are learning everything you can from ossan."

Ayame giggled softly at his comment while Teuchi feigned being offended at it. "Naruto, come on. You're talking like I could die within the next few months. I'll have you know that I still have at least 15 years left in me according to my doctor."

"The only reason you know that is because I made you go." Ayame spoke from behind her father like she was his mother. "I swear, if I weren't here, you wouldn't keep up with your health at all."

Ino decided to interject herself in this conversation. "I kinda know how you feel. If it weren't for me, Naruto would probably be eating ramen 24 hours a day. Though, I suppose it wouldn't be so bad if it helps your business out."

Ayame looked at her and smiled. She leaned in close and whispered to her. "Well, between me and you, whenever my dad isn't around, I do try to encourage Naruto to at least try to eat at other places and try other things, but he never does."

Ino glanced over in Naruto's direction to make sure that he wasn't paying attention, then over to Teuchi. When she was sure that it was all clear, she began to whisper. "Well, I don't think that it's because he doesn't want to. It's more like because he can't. I was with him one time when I tried to make him eat somewhere else, and he was kicked out before we could even get through the door. I don't know why, but most of the people of this village really hate him."

Ino didn't miss the way that Ayame's face literally plummeted during her explanation. "I see." She sighed and turned to Naruto, who was happily digging into his next bowl. "Well, while I can't say much, I will say that the reason for all of this hatred is completely baseless, and therefore utterly incomprehensible. Unfortunately, the only one who can tell you this reason is sitting right next to you."

Ino looked over at her partner, thankful for this new piece of info. 'I was right. There is something deeper. And if he is the only one who can tell me about it, then I guess I'm gonna be in the dark for a while then.'

"But I wouldn't worry myself over this too much if I were you." Ino turned her attention back to Ayame, and was somewhat surprised to see a smile on her face. "One thing that I know about Naruto is that if he has something he wants to say, he isn't shy about saying it. He will tell you when he is ready to."

Ino really thought about what the woman told her right then. A small smile began to creep its way across her face. She immediately thought back to their first Chuunin exam, when all of the Genin were assembled in the classroom. She may have thought it childish of him to simply yell out that he was going to beat each and every person in that room, but looking back on it, he was simply telling everyone what he though. He simply wasn't being shy about saying what he thought. She nodded her head, returning the smile.

"Oi, what are you two whispering about over there?" Naruto, fresh off of his latest bowl of ramen, had turned his attention to the two female members of their collected party.

"Oh, nothing much. Just girl stuff." Ino sent her smile towards Naruto, who looked on in mild confusion. 'He looks cute when he's confused.'

"Hey Naruto, why don't you go to the festival this year? It might actually do you more good, especially if you go with Yamanaka-san here," Teuchi said while collecting Naruto and Ino's bowls.

The sudden, and brief, drop in the expression on Naruto's face was not lost on those present, and each of them already knew that although some of his worse memories of his childhood were from this particular day, he was actually considering the idea of actually going with someone who didn't think ill of him. Sakura wasn't an option, since she seemed to not outright hate him, but definitely didn't want any sort of deep connection with him. Hinata would have been a good choice, if the girl would have just worked up the courage to ask him.

Deep down, Ino had some misgivings about going to the festival with him. If the last time that she had been seen going with him somewhere that he wasn't accepted in was any indication, then she would be in for a rough time if she did decide to go with him to the festival. And yet, just one look at her partners face and she knew that she wouldn't be able to do anything else. "What do ya say Naruto? Wanna hit up the festival for a while?"

Naruto was lost in thought for a while, probably weighing the pros and cons of going to the festival in the first place, let alone with someone else. Even if that someone else was just his partner. And after a few minutes of this he finally spoke up. "I guess it wouldn't be all bad. Ok, let's go."

Ino shot up from her seat, and keeping with her promise was about to pay for the meal, but Teuchi and Ayame smiled and declined, saying that this was their usual birthday gift to their favorite customer, and that as one of his closest friends, hers was also on the house. After giving a heartfelt thanks and bowing deeply, which Naruto mimicked, she grabbed his arm and they were off.

-Festival-

The twentieth annual Konoha festival, celebrating 20 years since the brave and selfless sacrifice of a man who was considered by many to be the greatest Hokage ever. Celebrating 20 years since the defeat of the most powerful of the tailed beast, the Kyuubi no Kitsune. This was the one day that just about everyone in the village could forget about all of their problems and either celebrate the defeat of a monster, or mourn the loss of a great leader or loved ones.

And though he would never admit it, though he would never show it, deep down Uzumaki Naruto hated this day with all of his heart,

This was the one day that the threats would actually seem like they would be carried through, the one day that his life was in the most danger. Never mind the fact that it was suppose to be his birthday, a day that he wished that he could at least celebrate in private. But no, it would not come to pass, as every year growing up, more and more people showed up outside his apartment with death threats and weapons and intent to kill.

This was one of the reasons why he joined the Anbu. When he found out that they were secretly protecting him from most all of the things that either threatened to kill or seriously injure him, even if some were rather reluctant, he was eternally grateful to them.

However, this particular festival day was different. And it didn't take too much imagination to figure out why.

Out the corner of his eye, he caught sight of the other blonde haired, blue eyed Anbu member running up to him, carrying something that looked like a baby onbu. When she confirmed his guess and told him about her own run in with the creature, he had to stifle a laugh. Not because of the fact that it happened to her, but because he knew the reason why it happened, though he would rot in his grave before he told her that story.

In all honesty he wanted to be the one to get the little stuffed toy for her, but the stall owner, predictably, told them that he would not allow him to play at his stall. Not wanting to worry Ino too much, he came back with the first line that popped into his mind. "That's ok. This game looks too easy anyway. I'll bet that Ino could probably beat this game with her eyes closed."

The fact that she actually did surprised the hell out of him.

But all of the games, all of the food, even the completely half assed play of the Yondaime defeating the Kyuubi, none of it really mattered to Naruto at that time. The fact of the matter was he was having a very good time. He would have to make sure that before this day was over to thank Ino for even thinking about wasting her day on him.

"Hey Naruto, can I ask you something?" Ino broke through his thoughts so suddenly, that he was actually surprised that she spoke.

"Oh, uh, sure go ahead."

"Well, it's just; do you remember the first Chuunin exam that we took?"

"Yeah, of course I do."

"During the preliminaries, I remember forehe- uh Sakura staring at Sasuke very intently. While I didn't think much of it at first, when I actually looked at her, it was almost like she was scared of him or something. Then after the fight, even though there didn't seem to be anything wrong with him, he was still taken away by the medics. I know it's about 8 years too late to be asking something like this, but I couldn't talk to Sakura about it since she would get all depresses that 'Sasuke-kuuuun' was gone, and I am not even gonna think about asking your sensei that question. So that makes you my only candidate."

Naruto listened on while Ino explained her reasons for her curiosity. He had a brief inner debate with himself about whether or not he should really divulge this information. _Brief._

"You know about the whole Orochimaru thing right? Well, apparently he has this forbidden jutsu that allows him to basically live forever. The only catch is that he needed to change bodies every 3 years. So what he did was he found ninjas that had the potential to become very strong candidates for him and put his cursed seal on them. The seal itself takes a lot of energy to use, but it gives the user a hell of a lot of strength. That is what he did to Sasuke, during the second round of the exams. Though, things didn't go as planned for him, as Sasuke killed him as soon as he got everything he needed from Orochimaru."

Ino listened on, extremely interested in what he had to say about her former crush. "Kinda like a praying mantis. So during the prelims…"

"They took him away just so they could make sure that the cursed seal wouldn't take control of him. Kinda funny isn't it? After everything we did to try and help the bastard, he turns around a dumps us like a sack of potatoes."

"But what about now? From what I've heard, seals like those can't be removed unless it's by the one who put it on. Does that mean it's still on him?"

"Unfortunately yes it is. However, Konoha took some special precautions. They placed another seal over that one. At the very most, it should keep it from taking over him until he dies, or until we can produce someone powerful enough to completely remove it, though I would put my money on the former happening first."

Ino nodded her head at this and turned her head forward. "Wow. You guys must have had it rough."

"And the screwed up part about it was that our so called 'sensei' did practically nothing to stop it. I have seen how the other Jonin senseis did with their teams. Kurenai sensei did everything that she could think of to make her Genin a team, Asuma sensei, gods rest his soul, didn't need to do much since you, Shikamaru, and Choji were practically born to work together, even Gai helped Lee, Neji, and Tenten to work together. Kakashi-sensei spouted out this bullshit about how 'people who break the rules are trash, but people who turn their backs on their friends are bigger trash,' then just sat back and watched as we basically killed ourselves from the inside out. Some tea player he is, huh?"

Ino patted his shoulder, hoping to calm him down before he got too riled up. The last thing he needed was to make a scene in a place that he already isn't appreciated in. "Now, now, calm down a little. He is a Jonin after all. I'm sure that if there was anything he could have done, he would have done it. What is he doing now anyway?" She did catch that little sentiment that Naruto sent to her long since passed sensei, and was truly grateful for it.

"I hear they are trying to cycle another Genin team through him, though last I heard me, Sakura, and Sasuke are still the only Genins that have passed his test. He says he'll give it another 5 tries before he decides to go back to being an Anbu again."

"That would be a big help. I heard that he was one of the best the Anbu have seen in a while. Hope everything turns out ok for him." Ino decided to try and find a more comforting topic for discussion.

In another part of a festival, a certain silver haired Jonin finished the last of a series of sneezes that had plagued him for the last few minutes.

Naruto looked up at the sky, and saw that the sun was getting ready to settle beyond the horizon. "We still got some time before the fireworks begin. Is there anything else you wanted to do?"

"Oi, dobe." Naruto cringed slightly at his old nickname. There was only one person that called him that.

Sure enough, walking up behind them was the raven haired genius of his class, Uchiha Sasuke. One hand was in his pocket, the other hanging out as it was accompanied by the arm of the pink haired medic nin Haruno Sakura.

"Sasuke, Sakura-chan. How are you guys doing?"

"Just fine Naruto, but what about you? I never see you at the festival. And I know that you never come because I actually look for you." Sakura spoke to Naruto, not noticing Ino at present.

Naturally, that didn't exactly sit well with Ino. "Oh, hey forehead, Nice to see you, too."

"Sakura turned to her former friend, and was about to come back with some sort of witty comment, then took in the entire scene. "Wait, wait, and wait. You are actually here with him?"

"Yeah, what's the problem with that? Partners can't be seen hanging out together?" This was indeed true. She had come here with Naruto as his partner and nothing more.

Sakura, however, either wasn't buying it, or wanted Ino to believe that she wasn't. "Sure, you are here at the festival, alone, holding a stuffed teddy bear that he obviously won for you, and you are here as 'just partners.' Must suck down there in loserville, doesn't it? I mean after all, you lost Sasuke-kun to me, didn't you?"

Ino couldn't believe what her former friend was telling her. "Lost Sasuke to you? Are you kidding me? If anything I won, simply because I refused to continue to follow after a lost cause. Meantime, you were following after Sasuke like you did all those years at the academy, while you continued to ignore the one person who actually cared about your sorry butt."

"Naruto? Please, all he had for me was a little kiddy crush. That is all it ever was, and that is all it ever will be." Obviously, she had completely forgotten that her former teammate was standing three feet to her right.

Ino hadn't. "You really are insensitive, you know that? I hope Sasuke dumps you like a sack of beans when he's done 'resurrecting his clan.'" Ino didn't really care that Sasuke was standing three feet to her right. She just grabbed a stunned Naruto's arm, and pulled him towards the seating area for the fireworks show, leaving a pissed off Sasuke and a shocked Sakura behind.

-In the seats-

Naruto had gone completely numb. He didn't feel a thing. Didn't feel when Ino dragged him towards the seats. Didn't feel when Ino gently placed him in one of the seats. Didn't even feel her try to shake him out of his daze. Sakura's words continued to replay itself in his mind. 'Naruto? Please, all he had for me was a little kiddy crush. That is all it ever was, and that is all it ever will be.' It played a few dozen times in his mind before her finally started tuning everything back in.

"Naruto, I'm sorry that you had to be there for that. I never should have started that fight. I didn't think she would be that much of a jerk towards you."

Ino started to get worried when she saw the slight smile creep its way across his face, and then got down right scared when he started giggling like a madman. "N-Naruto?"

"Thank you, Ino-chan. Now I can finally accept the fact that Sakura was never within my reach. I never had a chance with her. My so called 'little kiddy crush' was nothing compared to the devotion that she feels toward helping that last Uchiha revive his clan. I guess I just needed something to just hit me right between the eyes and say, 'Guess what, dobe? It's time to wake up and smell the ramen. You will never, _ever_ have any type of shot at getting with her. So thank you, Ino-chan, for providing me with that wake-up call."

The smile that was present on his face spoke volumes for Ino, and she could do nothing more than smile back. "You are very welcome. So tell me, how would you like to celebrate this newfound discovery?"

Naruto turned his head down and thought for a second. Then, almost as if a light clicked on in his head, his eyes widened, then narrowed as an evil grin crept across his face. "If you're up for it, I've got a killer idea."

Ino nodded her head eagerly, and leaned in while Naruto whispered the blueprints for his first prank in over 8 years into her ear. "You really think it will work?"

"You do your part, I'll do mine. As long as neither of us messes up, this should go off without a hitch."

"Ok, then I'll stop by my house really quick and I should be back in time for the show to begin."

"No, Ino-chan. The real show begins when this one ends."

-Festival, End of Fireworks Show-

Sakura, still latched on to Sasuke's arm, as if she had been born that way, lead her husband to be towards the exit of the festival. It had indeed been a great night for the both of them, though Sasuke would never admit to it in a vain attempt to keep up his cool, calm, and composed personality.

"So, Sasuke-kun, what do you say to getting in with the 'clan resurrection mission' when we get home?'

Before said Uchiha could come up with a suitable response, or any one for that matter, a female ninja in an Anbu uniform appeared in front of them. "Uchiha Sasuke. Hokage-sama requests your presence at the Hokage tower immediately."

Sakura immediately spoke up in defense of her fiancé. "Hokage-sama can wait until the morning. It is still our day off, after all."

"It has to do with your cursed seal, Uchiha Sasuke."

This, of course, got the attention of both Jonins. "Fine, then let's go." Sakura spoke in an annoyed tone of voice.

"Hokage-sama has requested to see Uchiha Sasuke alone."

"I am the Hokage's apprentice, so I am sure that she won't mind me going to with him."

"Pardon me, miss, but I do believe that Uchiha Sasuke is perfectly capable of speaking for himself, if you would allow him to. Sasuke-san, I have orders from the Hokage herself to bring you to the tower alone. So either you go alone on your own, or I go back and tell her that you wouldn't come, and she does it her way. And for your sake, I would suggest the former."

Sakura was about to speak up, but Sasuke cut her off. "Go home and warm the bed for me."

Sakura immediately softened up. "Ok, but hurry, Sasuke-kun." She gave him a quick kiss on the cheek before walking off in the direction of their house.

"What is that word that one guy likes to use? Oh, right. Troublesome." He turned back to the Anbu. "Ok, I'm ready."

"Hokage-sama will be waiting for you." And with that, the Anbu disappeared.

-Hokage Tower-

Sasuke walked up to the tower 10 minutes after the Anbu left him. He walked straight up the stairs and to the Hokage's office, and was somewhat surprised that she was waiting for him outside the office. "You called for me, Hokage-sama?"

"Yea, that's right. I had some questions about the seal."

"Well, I'm here now so ask away."

"Have you felt any sort of discomfort in the area of the seal lately?"

"No."

"Anything that feels even remotely like what it used to when it took over your body?"

"No."

"Do you feel any chakra flowing out of it or merging with your own chakra?"

"No."

"I see."

"What is the point of all this?" Sasuke was getting visibly annoyed.

"As you know seals tend to weaken over time. That coupled with the vast majority of cursed chakra that the cursed seal exudes could lead to the seal breaking far earlier than it should. So the elders decided to do semi-yearly checks on your seal to make sure that it isn't deteriorating."

"And why did I need to come alone?"

"Best not to worry Sakura in case anything is wrong."

"Well, I'm still me, so can I go now?"

Tsunade sighed. "Sheesh, you're just as bad as Naruto. Difference is I can't knock you out, 'cause then the elders will get on my case. But yes, you can go home now. That was all I needed."

Sasuke turned and left without a word.

As he walked through the streets of Konoha, he saw a red blur pass over him. He wasn't completely sure, as he didn't have his Sharingan activated, but he could have swore that the blur had pink hair.

-Meanwhile, back at Sakura and Sasuke's house-

The moment Sakura entered their house, she was in the bedroom, stripping off all of her clothes, digging out the skimpiest set of lingerie that she could find, which surprise, surprise was red, and wrapping herself in the shortest, thinnest red robe she had, which went down to her mid thighs. She then sat on the bed and waited.

Ten minutes later, her front door opened, and in stepped her Uchiha God. He walked straight to the bedroom. "Hey."

Sakura stood straight up and wrapped her arms around him. "Hey. What did Hokage-sama want to speak to you about?"

"Nothing much. Just thought that my seal might be breaking down faster than normal. But don't worry, I'm perfectly fine."

Sakura believed him, but decided to play the worried fiancé. "You sure?"

"Yea, I'm sure. Now what about accomplishing that mission?"

Sakura saw no more need for words and before they knew it, lips were locked, tongues were dancing, and a robe was coming undone.

However, before anything really serious could happen, Sasuke broke the kiss, grabbed his head and started groaning out loud.

"Sasuke-kun, what's wrong?" Sakura asked worriedly as Sasuke sunk down on the floor.

"T-the s-s-seal…..ge-get…….Hok….Hoka….ge……."

Sakura wasted no time, tying off her robe while she was running to the door, then bounding out into the night.

She reached the tower and didn't bother going through the door, opting to go straight for her office window. "Please, let her be here."

Sure enough, face down in another pile of paperwork with two bottles of sake on either side of her, was the Godaime Hokage.

Not wanting to favor subtlety, Sakura smashed her way through the window and yelled, "TSUNADE-SAMA!"

Tsunade awoke lazily. "Damnit Shizune, it isn't even morning yet. Nag me when I actually have to look like I'm doing work."

"Tsunade-sama! Sasuke-kun's seal! I think its breaking!"

Alert at once, Tsunade stood up and boomed at her apprentice, "Take me to him, now!"

They raced to the house, went into the door, and saw Sasuke, changing into his night clothes. Sakura was dumbfounded. "Sasuke-kun, are you alright?!"

He looked over to her. "Of course, why wouldn't I be?"

"Sakura, you told me that his seal might be breaking. Would you like to clarify?" Sakura did _not _like the tone of voice that the Hokage was using.

"But it was true. I was right here. And he was on the ground clutching his head saying that there was something wrong with his seal."

Sasuke looked at her, slightly annoyed. "No, I didn't even get back until a few minutes ago."

Now Sakura was really confused. "But I just saw you five or six minutes ago. You just got back from your meeting with Tsunade-sama."

"Sakura, you must be on something, because you are the only person I have seen tonight."

"That can't be true. He just went to go see you because you had some questions about his seal. Right Sasuke-kun?"

Sasuke's annoyed look grew. "What are you talking about? Tsunade-sama didn't want to speak to me. Are you sure you are ok?"

Sakura's jaw dropped. "Haruno Sakura, I want you in my office tomorrow morning. We need to go over some _extra_ training."And with that the Hokage walked out the house, the promise of pain for Sakura written all over her face.

Sasuke simple dropped himself into bed and went to sleep, leaving a dumbstruck Sakura to try to figure out just what had happened that night…….

……and what was in store for her tomorrow.

-Streets of Konoha-

Though they kept it silent so that no one would hear, the two blond haired, blue eyed Anbu couldn't contain the laughter that had been building up inside of them.

"I can't believe how well that worked out. I sure have missed doing things like this." The male of the duo said in a voice that was just begging to be completely unleashed.

"I know. That was absolutely brilliant. A true masterpiece of pranks." Ino was struggling just as much. "But if you were just going to have me henge into Tsunade-sama, why couldn't I have just henged into my Anbu uniform?"

"Because I wasn't sure if that bastard was going to use his Sharingan to see if it was legit. Once I saw that he didn't, the rest was cake. Though now I have a new reason for being glad that I didn't end up with Sakura. She is one terrible kisser. Dare I say, even Sasuke kissed better than her."

Ino could take it anymore. She let out a loud laugh that echoed throughout the village. "But did you see her face when no one believed her story? I wish I had my camera for that one."

"Oh yeah, how did you make it so that Sasu- Shintenshin no Jutsu?"

"Jumped into his mind and took control. Box seats are fun and all, but there's nothing like being front row center to the greatest show alive. And I was even able to alter his memory a little bit. As far as he knows, there was no Tsunade and no Anbu. He just went to the shop to get some eggs."

"Why didn't you just do that from the beginning, then you wouldn't have had to use Shintenshin no jutsu?"

"Have to be in their brain to modify it."

"I see. Still, very clever. We should team up again sometime."

Ino simply smiled.

As they reached the door to her apartment building, Naruto spoke up again. "Seriously though, let's do this again sometime."

"Sure, I'm always up for another good prank."

Naruto shook his head. "As fun as that sounds, that's not what I meant. I mean you and me, let's just hang out again. You know, have some fun together. Fun that doesn't have to do with pranking."

Ino looked at him for a second. "Yeah, I would like that."

He smiled. "Well, I guess this is your stop, huh?"

"Yeah, it is." She opened her door. "Tomorrow?"

"Yeah, back to missions as always. But if we have some free time, I'll be sure to look you up."

Ino smiled and nodded her head. She turned to walk into the building, then turned back and kissed his cheek. "Night," she blurted out before rushing back in and closing the door.

Naruto touched his cheek and smiled. "Night, Ino-chan."

-End-

2 days of thinking, 12 hours of writing, and God knows how many cans of caffeine later, BOOM! Chapter 2.

For those of you who read my One Piece Fic "Vivi Returns," (Mr. Thumbsup, Thank you being one of my most reliable reviewers) DON'T PANIC. I AM NOT ABANDONING IT. I just can't find the inspiration needed to come up with the next chapter of my story. The minute I get something, you will all know.

Thank you all for the positive reviews. And if there is anything that you would like to see in the story, please don't hesitate to ask. I have mind that is like a 7-11; it is always open.

R&R&Have a nice day.


	3. Last Words

-Chapter 3; Last Words-

Tokugara Ganju.

Age; 46.

Height; 6'2".

Weight; 297lbs.

Hair color; brown.

Eye color; hazel.

Home of residence; Owns several estates throughout the 5 countries, but mainly lives in his 10 bedroom home in Wind country.

Tokugara Ganju was a small time crook in his early years. Constantly in and out of the custody of the local authorities when his parents had decided that he wouldn't learn anything unless it was the hard way. His parents had to try and keep him out of sight, as they were one of the richest families in the world. His father, Tokugara Kenji, inherited his grandfather's gift for inventing new and useful tools and had established himself as one of the leading inventors within the entire world. His mother, Tokugara Reina, was one of the most popular and successful actresses not only within the ninja community, but worldwide as well, second only to Fujikaze Yukie in sheer talent and beauty.

When he was 16, Ganju had already developed a rap sheet that could rival half of the missing nins in Fire Country alone, except instead of killing, he kept himself at stealing, though he did increase the scale at which his thefts occurred, eventually pulling a full scale bank job for his sixteenth birthday. His parents had finally had enough and decided to cut him from the family name thereby disowning him, and preventing him from gaining their inheritance.

Unfortunately, Ganju found out about his parent's plot, and naturally became enraged. He used the money that he had stolen to buy out the services of a mist missing nin, the now deceased missing nin Momochi Zabuza, and ordered him to kill his parents and leave absolutely no witnesses. Zabuza carried out his contract expertly, eliminating Kenji and Reina before either could make Ganju's banishment from their family official. Any and all close advisors were also killed in the slaughter.

Ganju feigned his sadness at their funeral, and in a speech that could have made anyone there vote for him to become kage of any of the villages, promised to carry on his father's and his grandfather's legacies, making their corporation the biggest and best that the world had ever seen.

And to an extent, he held true to his promise. Over the course of a few years, the company's income had increased by at least 150. He used the increase to expand the business to other countries, eventually becoming a global phenomenon. The resources that were at his disposal were near limitless, and many began to wonder if he would ever go away.

However, none of them knew the true reason behind his newfound wealth. True, on the surface he kept his ancestors business running like usual. Underneath all of that, however, was a series of underground developmental facilities that used the resources that he received to develop weapons. Hand guns, shotguns, machine guns, you name it, he made it. By the time he was twenty, he had built his first factory and began mass producing them, selling them on the black market.

Even though it was underground, people still were able to find out about this, and threatened to turn him in to the authorities. Unfortunately for them, Ganju had an addiction. His drug; Missing nins. After Zabuza, he began hiring missing nins for most any job that required blood work, and eventually, he was able to acquire 4 of them permanently. One from the Hidden Sand Village, one from the Waterfall, one from the Mist, and his most recent one from the Rock. All are ranked as A class missing nins.

We have taken special interest in this case because he has murdered a great supporter of mine. We would have ended up going after him sooner or later, so it would be wise to take him out sooner.

You will take whoever you need and eliminate Tokugawa Ganju and the 4 missing nins that are in his charge. There is no time restraint for this mission, so feel free to use whatever means that you deem necessary.

Good luck,

Tsunade, Godaime Hokage.

End of Mission Order.

Yamanaka Ino stared down at the mission profile that had been delivered to her earlier that day again. At first, she had thought she knew what to expect out of this mission. Some fat tyrant with money to throw around at some missing nins needed to be taken out. And while she somewhat right about this mission, the fact that there were four A class missing nins there made the mission that much more interesting. "Maybe I'll actually get some field practice on the jutsu I just perfected. Well, better go find him. If he is as bored as he said he has been, this should be the wakeup call that he has been waiting for."

It took her no less than five minutes to locate Uzumaki Naruto, as opposed to the half an hour that it usually took. She was surprised at just how easy it was to find him when she started thinking about it. Though the fact that there were only a handful of places that he would be didn't hurt. During the night hours, he was in his apartment. Breakfast, lunch, and dinner were spent at his favorite ramen stand. When he was bored, he could be found at the training grounds, though that was never the same place one day as it was the next. If he was depressed, or if he simply wished to enjoy the view, he was at the Hokage monument. Just a few of the places that he frequented.

This time, she found him up at the monument with a few ramen cups. The surefire future Hokage barely even noticed that he was no longer alone on the monument, and only turned when Ino was standing right next to him. He swallowed the noodles that he had in his mouth and looked up at his blonde partner. "Hey, Ino. You got a mission?" He nodded towards her, acknowledging the fact that she was in her Anbu outfit, with her mask in her hand.

"_We _have a mission." She tossed him the scroll. "Read that on the way to your apartment, burn it when you're done, and change over. Don't worry, this one actually promises to be fun. This time we get to kill missing nins. A class. Four of them."

Naruto perked up when he heard her declare that they had actually bad guys to kill. "Sweet. Things were starting to get kinda boring around here. At first I thought baa-chan was simply not giving us any of the really good missions. I was getting scared that she might have found out about our little prank."

Ino simply nodded. In the back of her mind, she also had her fears about the freakishly powerful Hokage possibly finding out about the prank that they had played on Sakura at her expense. The woman was far more perceptive than her gambling and drinking made people think. However, within the week after they had performed the prank, the worst that they had seen Tsunade do to anyone during that time was the complete and total torture of her apprentice, Sakura. Ino had never seen the girl look more a mess then during her week in the field with the Hokage. However, she felt that it was Sakura's own fault. If she would have noticed just how good of an opportunity she was passing up for Sasuke, the whole prank would have never happened.

Ino had used their week of inactivity to get closer to her partner, learning as much about him as she could. And she was surprised by most of the things that he allowed himself to tell her.

The first thing that caught her off guard was his detailed explanation of what happened after everyone was put to sleep during the Chuunin exams, and while she was surprised to find out about Naruto's exploits against Gaara, going particularly wide-eyed when he spoke about how he summoned Gamabunta, she did ask if he would have been so motivated if he had know that Sakura never would have wanted to be with him. His answer shocked the hell out of her. "Yeah, of course I would have. She was still my friend, and she was still a ninja of Konoha. If I am to become Hokage, I will have to protect people who don't like me anyway right? Might as well get as much practice now." Typical Naruto.

Next was his adventure with Jiraiya, and his quest to bring Tsunade back to Konoha to become Hokage. The fact that he learned the Rasengan, the attack that the Yondaime himself created, was just an extra added bonus. She was a little pissed when she found out that Yakushi Kabuto, the only other person that she had ever seen that wore as much purple as she did, was working with Orochimaru from the get go. Naruto, not willing to spend time with a pissed off Ino, showed her the crystal that Tsunade gave him. She became particularly teary eyed when he explain the history behind that crystal. She hugged Naruto tightly after he had finished and said, "You have survived more than any one person should. You will become Hokage."

Her final surprise of that week came when she found out about Naruto's friendship with the Sand ninja, Sabaku no Gaara, who she had recently found out was Kazekage. These two had nearly killed each other during the Chuunin exam, and although Sand and Leaf were back on good terms after the invasion attempt, she figured that two people who fought so fiercely couldn't just forget like that. His explanation only left her even more confused. "Though we may not seem like it, we are really more alike than you think." When he wouldn't say anymore, she gave up and accepted.

Through out all of his explanations, there was one thing that she noticed about this Naruto that differed from the old Naruto. When he spoke about all of these great things that he had done, he didn't sound like he was bragging at all. On the contrary, he actually sounded like all of these things were everyday happenings for him. She wasn't sure if he was naturally humble, or just didn't think that it was all that big of a deal anymore, but it impressed her to no end.

But her time with him had been cut short when Coyote came with the mission orders from Tsunade. Naruto turned into another person when he put on his Anbu mask, as if he didn't have enough masks as it was. During his their missions together, he rarely talked, only speaking when it was absolutely necessary. It was kinda unnerving to see the usually exuberant Naruto so quiet and solemn. Not that she was complaining or anything. After all, silence was what made the Anbu so effective in missions. The only time that the enemy knew that they were there was when it was too late. It was just that, at least once just for kicks, she would like to see him jump on a rock and yell out, "I am Uzumaki Naruto, Konoha Anbu member, and I am gonna kick all of your asses." And then proceed to do just that.

She had been so lost in her thoughts that she hadn't even noticed that Naruto was no longer with her on the monument. In fact, by the time she had noticed that he had left, he had already returned fully clad in his Anbu uniform. "Hey, aren't we bringing Kiba with us? I'm sure that he must be just as bored as we are with all of the training that he is going through."

"I already tried to get him, but he and his sister are out on a joint mission with the Hidden Waterfall Village."

"Oh well, it's his loss I guess. Well let's get going." He took off for the front gate of the village. Ino gave a light laugh. 'Still a kid at heart.' She started running after him.

They reached the entrance at the same time, put their masks on, and in a flash, the Anbu team disappeared.

-2 Days Later-

Naruto looked up at the mansion impressed. The mission order said that the guy was a rich bastard, but you couldn't truly appreciate just how rich someone was until you took a good look at how big the house that he lived in was. Then you just had to wrap your head around the fact that he owned more than one of these things.

Outside of that, it also made his job that much easier. Big houses like these usually meant that the person inside needed extra security to ensure that he remained safe. Naruto believed that he bypassed this step, under the impression that 4 A class missing nins could keep him safer than any number of security guards could, but Ino wasn't willing to take that chance, jumping into the body of a bird and scoping out the mansion. He turned back to the limp figure of Ino, extremely glad that he was partnered with such a resourceful ninja. "Wonder how things would have been had we been on the same team as Genins."

That train of thought ended at that when Ino came back to life, and after spending a few seconds to get her bearings, turned to her partner. "I hate to admit it, but you were right. The only bits of security for the entire mansion are the ninjas that he has on his payroll. He has two of them patrolling the outside of the mansion, and I would be willing to bet that the other two are with him."

Naruto turned his gaze back to the mansion. "Good, that means we only have to seriously fight two of them. Where are they now?"

"One of them is patrolling the perimeter of the house, the other is on the roof."

"You take the one on the ground. I'll meet you back here in five minutes." Naruto was gone almost before the last word escaped his mouth. Ino was used to it by now. When Naruto said Five minutes, he meant five minutes. So questioning whether he was actually going to be there in five minutes wasn't even an option.

She moved through the trees and eventually found her target, the mist missing nin. 'Ok, Shika, let's see if I was able to get this one right.' She took off her kunai holster and faced her target. She went through a series of seals and ended with her hands in a special seal that she had developed, her hands shaped like a diamond with the tips of her fingers touching at the top and her thumbs at the bottom. She looked through the hole that her hands made and centered him within it. 'Here goes nothing.' She activated the jutsu, and seconds later, the missing nin stopped walking. Ino cringed just a little, thinking that just maybe it didn't work and he sense her chakra signature. However, when she took a step backwards to turn and run, she saw that he also took a step backwards. Surprised she raised her hand, and the ninja copied her movements perfectly.

Ino could stop the smile that came across her face if she tried. 'Yes, it worked! The Mind Imitation Jutsu is a success.' She had been waiting to test this jutsu out for a while now, and couldn't wait to tell her former teammate that all of their hard work had finally paid off. It started out as a simple statement from Shikamaru. "Hey, Ino, if you really want to get better than Sakura, maybe you should come up with a jutsu that can beat her. After all, we saw how well that troublesome Shintenshin no Jutsu did against her." Ino's first impulse was to bash him over his pineapple shaped head, but then she started thinking about what he just told her. 'Maybe I do need a new jutsu, something all my own.'

In the weeks after that revelation she began thinking about how what kind of jutsu she should make. 'Bah, this is too hard. How am I supposed to come up with a new jutsu out of thin air? Most of the ones I have thought of have already been made.' Needless to say, it was a frustrating time for Ino.

Then, when she had heard about Naruto's Oodama Rasengan, she was struck with inspiration. "I don't have to come up with a completely new jutsu. I just need to expand a jutsu I already know." No sooner had that thought entered her mind, she already knew which jutsu to use. The Shintenshin no jutsu, while incredibly useful as a reconnaissance jutsu, had no place in a combat environment. If she was to start anywhere, it would be there. But just how could she expand upon it?

Her answer came in the form of her teammate, Shikamaru. Using his favorite jutsu as the base, she got to work on her newest jutsu. The end result; Mind Imitation Jutsu. Instead of sending her entire mind of her opponent, she only sent some of it. Just enough to allow her to control her opponent's movements. Ups; She didn't feel their pain, and she didn't die if their body died. Downs; She couldn't see into her opponents mind.

Using her newest jutsu's most useful up, she moved her hand down to where her kunai pouch use to be, and he began to rummage through the kunai pouch that was still on his leg. She then made him pull the kunai out and thrust it cleanly between his eyes. Since her jutsu could only control living minds, the jutsu was broken immediately, and he fell like a rag doll to the ground.

After making sure that the body wouldn't be found any time soon, she made her way back to the meeting place, her mask hiding the ear to ear smile that was on her face.

-Roof of the Mansion-

The Hidden Rock Missing Nin finished his latest patrol of the roof of the mansion; something that he thought was completely worthless to begin with. True, he had only been a part of this little entourage for the better part of a week now, but that didn't mean he wasn't entitled to his own opinions about the way this place was run. Unfortunately, it did mean that whatever opinions that he did have meant absolutely nothing to anyone else. He tried not to mind though. He was living the good life of a ninja, with maids waiting at his every beck and call, and a fat paycheck every week. What more could a guy ask for?

His answer came in the form of a seductive coo from behind him. His first instance was to pull out a few senbon needles and give whoever it was a little lesson in acupuncture. However, the sight that reached his eyes immediately left him speechless.

Laying in an overly seductive pose, running her fingers all across her bare skin, was a young, almost naked woman, with bright blue eyes and golden blonde hair, done into a pair of pigtails. She looked over to him and spoke in a very sultry voice. "Hey there, big boy. Why don't you take a break and play with me for a while?" As good as the maids were, the fact that there was a strict hands off rule applied to them made this invitation all the more pleasing.

He made his way over to her, and although he was slightly confused when he saw that there were a set of whisker marks on her face, the rest of her body quickly purged any curiosity about them. "Hey, baby. Wanna see my 'kunai'?" It would be the last thing he would ever say. The last thing he would ever see would be the girl poofing out of existence. The last thing he would ever hear would be, "Naw, I like mine better," from behind him. Then, there was nothing else. He fell forward, a kunai embedded deep into the back of his head. His assailant caught him before he landed on the roof, and carried him to the ground. Naruto hid the body and ran back to the meeting spot, where Ino was waiting.

"Five minutes. As promised."

"Ino shook her head and looked back into the mansion. "How long before they realize that they are now down two missing nins?"

"Probably not that long. Just means that we probably won't be able to conceal ourselves anymore."

Ino looked over at her partner and sighed. "Well, if it's gonna be a fight, we might as well start it right?"

Naruto nodded his head at her, smiling under his mask. "Let's go." They jumped up and went through a couple of open windows.

They both were somewhat relieved when they were met with an empty kitchen, and began to slowly make their way through the house. Room after room, they stealthily moved through, at first thankful for the empty rooms. However, as they passed the tenth room, Ino silently brought up a point that had began to worry her. "Something isn't right here. As rich as this asshole is, and as big as this house is, there should be maids, butlers, and all sorts of people here. I really don't like the fact that we haven't run into one person since entering this house."

Naruto had indeed noticed this as well, but didn't sound at all worried about it. "He hasn't escaped yet. I have surrounded the mansion with Kage Bunshin. If he did escape, one of them would have noticed by now."

Ino nodded her head. Naruto had already told her about his favorite techniques special ability, which allowed him to see the memories of his bunshin after it was dispelled. One of the first things that they did after becoming a team was tell each other about their current abilities. If they didn't know just what the other person could do, then how could they work as a team? The fact that Naruto was the one who proposed the idea was something that completely blew her mind.

Her thoughts were interrupted by a pair of senbon needles planting themselves into the wall beside her. Turning to the direction that they came from, she was greeted with the face of the Missing Waterfall Nin. "Hello there. I don't suppose you are another one of those protestors, trying to uncover the boss's secret, are you?"

Naruto was the one to speak up. "No, we are here to end your boss."

The Waterfall nin sighed. "Now why does it have to be that way? If you kill my boss, I stop getting money. Now I have to kill the both of you" He pulled out another pair of senbon needles and threw one each at Naruto and Ino.

The blond duo easily dodged them, and Ino lunged at him with a kunai in her hand. She let loose a barrage of kunai attacks which the missing nin was barely able to dodge. During her short time as a teammate with Naruto, he had helped her improve her taijutsu dramatically. The fact that they were still inside the mansion also helped by limiting his maneuverability. Naruto, in the mean time, was standing back appearing to be waiting for an opening for himself.

Finally, after a misstep by Ino which left her slightly off balance, the missing nin lunged forward and her, knocking the kunai away from her hand and sending an open hand palm strike to her chin, sending her flying into the air. Unfortunately, he completely missed Naruto running forward, underneath Ino's still sailing form. Naruto lunged forward and hit him straight in the chest with an open hand strike, sending him flying back into the wall. As the missing nin slowly recovered, Naruto kept his striking posed, seemingly deep in concentration. The missing nin stood up and laughed. "Ok, that was a pretty good hit. But if that is all you have, then you are in some trouble."

Naruto smirked underneath his mask, as he spoke the last words that the missing nin would ever hear. "Rasenbomb." He relaxed his posture, and the missing nin exploded.

Ino had recovered from the hit, which wasn't nearly as hard as she thought it should have been, and saw the entire scene unfold in front of her. After the entire space that they had been occupying was dotted with the blood of the former missing nin, she walked up to Naruto. "What the hell did you do to him?"

Naruto looked at her. "My new assassination technique; the Rasenbomb. It is just like a regular Rasengan only instead of making it bigger like I did with the Oodama Rasengan, I made it super small, compacting all of that chakra into a ball no bigger that a needle point. It takes a lot of Chakra control to keep it that way, something I actually have to thank Sakura for. Then all I do is release my control of it, and the chakra forces its way out. In other words; boom."

"When did you come up with that? I haven't even heard of it."

About a month ago, though I didn't tell you about it because I didn't perfect it until about a week ago."

Ino simply nodded. True she felt a little left out about the attack not being brought to her attention until just now, but she supposed that it wouldn't make sense to talk about an attack you haven't learned to use completely.

"Hey Ino, do you hear something? It sounds kinda familiar."

Ino opened her ears to the sound, which did sound familiar, and sounded like it was all around them. In an instant, Ino realized that they had seconds to live. "Explosive tags! Run!" The headed for the nearest windows they could find and leaped out just as a huge explosion engulfed the mansion.

Naruto and Ino were laid out on the ground in front of what used to be the mansion. As they slowly climbed to their feet, they were greeted with a pair of wooden figures, both with blades that were dripping with poison pointed at them.

"So my entire operation was about to be threatened by a couple of ninjas. Good call, Kotaro."

The blonde Anbu pair looked past the figures to see the smiling face of Tokugara Ganju and the Missing Sand Nin, who was apparently named Kotaro, standing a few meters away from them. Kotaro appeared to be controlling the figures with his fingers, meaning that he was a puppet user, which only made sense since he was a former Sand nin.

"It was no problem, Tokugara-sama, though I am sorry about the mansion. I know it was your favorite."

"Ah, don't sweat it. I have many more of those, and I can always have another one built. Now then, show me the faces of my would be assassins."

Twitching his fingers slightly, Kotaro made his puppets take the masks off of Naruto and Ino, revealing their faces to them. Ino used this time to address her partner. "Where are your bunshins? We can still surprise them."

Naruto shook his head. "They are gone. I felt them leave at the same time as the explosion."

Ganju began laughing. "I don't believe it. They are sending kids after me now. This is way too much for me."

Kotaro allowed a small smile to come across his face. "If you don't mind, Tokugara-sama, I would like to end their lives now. My fingers are getting sort of twitchy now."

"Yes I suppose that they have lived long enough. " He turned back to them. "So, any last words?"

Naruto scowled at him, and was about to unleash one of the most unninjalike insults ever, but stopped. And smiled. "Yeah, just two."

"Oh, and what might they be?" Tokugara Ganju would regret those words, as the last two words that would enter his ears would haunt him throughout his afterlife.

"Sabaku Kyuu!"

-End-

There it is. Chapter 3. I really like the ending to this one, and I hope you all do to.

One side note, and this is mainly for you Anthony.

If I ever,_ ever_, plan on actually ending this story, then I would make sure that I let each and every one of you know that I was ending it. So please don't simply assume that I ended my story.

Nothing else to pass so, R&R&have a nice day.


	4. Sabaku No Gaara

-Chapter 3 Sabaku No Gaara-

By all accounts, the Godaime Kazekage was doing very well for himself, and if anyone was to ask him why, he would tell you that it was all because of the fact that he was able to get a good night's sleep.

The last time that Uzumaki Naruto had seen the red haired sand user was 5 years ago, when he was sent to rescue him from Deidara and Sasori of Akatsuki. Back then, Naruto wasn't sure just how badly Gaara's combat techniques were affected by the fact that Shukaku had been taken away from him. True, he did have some of his sand manipulation powers with him when they last parted ways, as he was able to use his sand to make Naruto shake hands with him, but if he was still able to fight on the scale that he used to was a different story entirely.

Now, here they were, in the Kazekage's office, catching up on the years that they had spent in their respective villages. Naruto allowed Gaara to go first, as there weren't many of the blonde's exploits that hadn't already reached the Kazekage.

The first thing that Gaara did when Naruto left was sleep. And boy did he sleep. According to his siblings he slept a total of 2 weeks straight. Not that anyone blamed him; after all if they had to go over 15 years without sleep, then they would feel like they deserved to have as much of it as they wanted. After his brief coma, he began to assess just how much his powers suffered from the removal of his prisoner. And while he expected his abilities to be nowhere near where they used to be, realizing just how far apart they were caused just a little worry in him.

The first, and decidedly most painful, of his findings was the fact that his shield of sand was no more. The sand didn't automatically defend him when an attack came, no matter how slow it came. Next was the fact that without Shukaku's chakra reserves, his armor of sand, which took a lot of chakra to maintain, was utterly impossible to maintain in a combat situation. Almost all of his offensive moves suffered greatly, though his most basic move, Sabaku Kyuu, was still considered usable by his standards. His standards being that he could still kill his opponent with it.

His solution was a simple one, and Naruto wondered if his comrade had spent some time around another Konoha shinobi. His solution; hard work. He dedicated all of his time into increasing the effectiveness of his offensive moves, increasing his chakra capacity greatly, though it would never reach the heights that it used to, and increasing his evasiveness. His shield of sand and his armor of sand would not be coming back any time soon, so Gaara had to change his fighting style dramatically. Instead of simply standing in one place the whole battle and sending his sand out to attack and kill his enemy, he learned a few basic taijutsu forms from a few of the taijutsu masters of his village. He only used his sand occasionally, just as a way to either gain the upper hand on his opponent, or to finish him.

Not to say that his sand powers were completely shot down. On the contrary, his offensive techniques had reached the level that they had been before the Akatsuki attack. Naruto had witnessed that first hand when he dispatched the Missing Sand Nin and Tokugara Ganju. Considering that he had only seen the Sabaku Kyuu used on the arm and leg of Lee during the Chuunin exams and had not seen Gaara ever perform his trademark attack on a person's full body before, the sight of both Ganju and Kotaro's bodies getting crushed by the pressure that Gaara put on the sand was a sight that wasn't going to leave Naruto's head for years.

Naruto was not the most observant ninja in the world. After all, it took him all of his entire ninja life to notice the blindingly obvious affection that a certain Hyuuga harbored for him. However, after spending his six month Anbu run as her partner, Naruto was completely aware of how silent Yamanaka Ino was being right now. He wanted to believe that it was simply the fact that they were sitting in the office of the Kazekage, even if he reassured her over and over that they were close friends, but immediately discounted that theory since she was just as loud and belligerent as he was when she was in the presence of the Hokage. It was here that he wished that he could use one of her mind reading jutsu's so he could determine just what was going through her mind.

As Gaara motioned for Naruto to begin his side of the catching up, Ino, who had basically been standing to the side watching the too get caught up with each other, was sending her expert observational skills in overdrive. And the first thing that she noticed was how open the Kazekage was being. The last time she had seen the red haired Kazekage was 8 years ago, when the Konoha 11, minus Tenten, had been dispatched to help the Sand ninjas retrieve Gaara's student, and even then she noticed just how silent he was. He rarely spoke to anyone other than his brother, sister, or Naruto. And even when he did speak, it was straight to the point. He never said any more or less than what was absolutely necessary. This, however, was a welcome relief from when she had first met him during the Chuunin exams. It was almost as if he was out to kill anyone and everyone who even stopped to say hello to him.

But now, he almost seemed friendly. Granted he still had the same dark marks around his eyes, and still held his near emotionless gaze on whoever spoke to him. But still, it was almost a pleasant atmosphere inside of his office. It was like she was looking at a completely different person from the one that she knew. But then again, she was already used to that, having been around Naruto for so long. This, once again, brought her back to when Naruto said that he and Gaara had more in common than she knew. She was now truly forcing herself no to force her way into his mind and find out for herself just why the blonde haired prankster always seemed to shut everyone out when certain topics about him came up. But she restrained herself, believing that Naruto would indeed tell her whatever secret provoked such dark moods within him when he was ready.

After Naruto was finished telling his five year story to Gaara he then asked just how Gaara found his way to the mansion.

"I had decided to look into any and all past records of unresolved incidents within my village. One of them was an A class missing nin named Kotaro, one of our most prominent puppet users. No one knows just why he decided to go rogue all of the sudden, but he became a top priority when he stole an ancient puppeteering scrolls. We had a second copy of the scroll hidden away, but if that scroll was put into enemy hands, then one of our village's greatest weapons was gone. Unfortunately, with the death of my father, most of the cases, along with his, had to be put on hold in favor of rebuilding the village after the failed attack on your village.

"Once I took over as Kazekage, after the whole Akatsuki incident, I began a thorough investigation of each and every case that could not be resolved before my father's death. The Kotaro case intrigued me immensely, and I placed all of our resources into finding him. Unfortunately, stealth appeared to be one of his strong points, as we were unable to locate him within the five countries. We started coordinating with your Hokage, figuring that two villages looking for a missing nin had a better chance of finding him than just one. We finally got a lead when she gave us the report on Tokugara Ganju. I decided to handle this one personally."

Naruto and Ino both nodded their heads. "Good thing you showed up when you did. If he was as good as you said he was, then I doubt neither me nor Ino could have moved fast enough to escape getting poisoned."

The next thing that Gaara did actually caused a sharp shiver to run down Ino's spine. He smiled. It wasn't the big, toothy, ear to ear smile that Naruto was famous for, and it wasn't the evil, sadistic smile that she saw on Gaara during the preliminary fights. No, it was just a slightly amused, microscopic raise of the corner of his mouth. "Truth be told, I could have intervened before the house exploded, but when I found out that you two were inside, I wanted to see if you could have finished it on your own. After what I saw, however, I am beginning to think that you two need more help than you think."

Ino's jaw was almost touching the floor. The Godaime Kazekage had just told a joke. Her brain had just become completely fried, and she was incapable of coherent thought, much less words. Thankfully, and surprisingly to Ino, Naruto wasn't having as many problems as she was. "Aw, come on Gaara. You have to give us some credit. They had to blow up a mansion just to keep us down long enough to trap us."

Gaara didn't let the grin leave his face. "Maybe I should tell your Hokage that you really can't handle the missions that are given to you by yourselves. I'm sure that she will be more than happy to lighten your load."

Naruto started laughing out loud, clearly not worried about his friends threats. "That's a good one Gaara. You are a funny guy." However, when he finally did look up at the Kazekage, the look on his face pretty much said, "I dare you to think that I won't." Now Naruto got worried. "Hey, Gaara, you aren't serious about that are you?"

"I could have a messenger hawk sent out within ten minutes."

Now Ino was getting worried. "Please, Kazekage-sama. It is boring enough when we have to do simple missions. The really hard stuff is our only real source of excitement. Please don't tell her."

Now, the other corner of his mouth had risen up. "Dear Hokage, The Anbu team of Yamanaka Ino and Uzumaki Naruto, after a firsthand investigation of their skills, do not seem fit to be able to handle some of the more demanding assassination missions that you request of them."

Now Naruto was biting his fingernails, sweat dripping from every pore in his body. "Come on Gaara, quit playing around. You know we can handle them."

Gaara pretended to not hear them. "Therefore, it is my suggestion that you lower their mission rank to-" Before He could finish the sentence, he froze. He was surprised to find that he couldn't move his arms, legs, head, even his eyes. 'I've felt this before, when that Nara kid caught me with his shadow jutsu. But he isn't here now, so what…." His body then turned towards the female blonde, and he saw that she was using some sort of strange seal.

Naruto looked over at Ino in something resembling surprise, shock, and wonder. "Ino, what the hell did you do?"

Ino kept her eyes locked on Gaara. "Mind Imitation Jutsu. I finally perfected it." She walked up to Gaara, which only took half the time it would take as he walked to her as well. "Now you listen up. I don't care if you are the Kazekage, Hokage, Kamikage, or any other kage that might exist. You will not jeopardize my perfect Anbu mission record just because we were caught a little off guard. I swear to the gods, I will make sure that you spend each and every day of your life regretting the day you crossed Yamanaka Ino! So, what do ya say to that?"

Gaara spoke in a voice that was far to calm for his current situation. "Uzumaki Naruto, is she always this scary when she gets angry?"

Naruto stared at the Kazekage in awe. He had a lot of balls calling Ino scary right in her face. "Oi, Gaara, you really aren't in any position to be saying things like that."

Gaara turned his attention back to the blonde haired mind user, and smiled his small, confident smile again. "I thought you Konoha ninjas had a sense of humor."

Ino was so shocked by his words that she unknowingly released her jutsu's hold on his mind."You……. you can't possibly mean……"

Gaara simply nodded his head and said, "I was kidding."

Naruto dropped face first, while Ino remained froze at his words.

Gaara shook his head. "These last few years have done a lot of good for me. I have found my humanity; something that I believed never existed before. And now that I have a firm hold on it, I wish to enjoy it as much as I can."

Naruto stood back up and nodded his head, completely understanding what he was saying. "I see that. And I suppose that we should be congratulating you for that, then. By the way, how are things going with the villagers?"

Gaara retook his seat behind his desk. "The council still has some slight misgivings about me, but at the very least, they don't see me as a potential threat to the village anymore. Of course, the younger generations have accepted me to a much greater extent than I could have ever imagined. The rest of the village is still somewhat split down the middle as far as I'm concerned, but at the very least, no one outright hates me anymore."

Naruto couldn't help the smile that came across his face. "Good for you Gaara."

"I have already sent the mission report to your Hokage, so if you don't mind, I would like for you to stay the night here. You can use the guest rooms in my mansion."

Ino, finally recollecting herself and being the more refined of the two, bowed to the Kazekage. "Thank you, Kazekage-sama."

"Now, if that is all, I would like to speak with Uzumaki Naruto alone."

Ino nodded and turned to walk out of the door to his office.

Once Gaara was sure that they were alone, Gaara turned to his friend. "What happen to the other girl? The pink haired one?"

It took Gaara a while before he could register what he was asking. "Oh, Sakura?" Gaara already knew that something had happened. He always added the 'chan' to the end of her name. "Well, you remember when I told you about how we finally got Sasuke to come back to us? Well, six months after he returned, he and Sakura got engaged."

If Gaara had eyebrows, one of them would have been raised slightly above the other. "Engaged? To him? How did that happen?"

"Don't ask me. I've been trying to figure that one out ever since she told me. But that didn't truly do it for me. No, my affection for her officially ended during a festival at my village. I believe her exact words were, 'All he had for me was a little kiddy crush. That is all it ever was and that is all it ever will be.' Wow, it must have been one hell of a kiddy crush for me to constantly put my life at risk for her."

Gaara simply nodded at that. "She is obviously far too shallow to notice that what you had for her was more than she deserved. It is great that you have moved on."

"Uh, thanks Gaara, but why did you ask in the first place?"

"I have seen how you act around the mind jumper. Though it may have been brief, I have noticed something between the two of you. So I figured that something must have happened between you and your former teammate."

He looked down at his feet. "Well, as far as me and Ino are concerned, there isn't really much there. We hang out, talk, eat together, go on missions together, and even play a few pranks on people." He said that last part with just a hint of pride. "She kinda reminds me of me whenever I see her start yelling at someone, or when she is ordering ramen. I guess I should have noticed this a long time ago, but I was so wrapped around Sakura that I shut every other girl out, even Hyuuga Hinata, the only person in my class who actually liked me."

Gaara stared at Naruto, somewhat pleased that he was talking about this with him. "I see. Temari once told me that we only realize our biggest mistakes in life in retrospect, when it is already too late to change or fix them. The only thing that we can do is take what we have learned and apply them to our present lives. You have done that by realizing that, although you spoiled you chance with someone who truly admired you when you were younger, there was still someone there who you had a decent chance with. While she is extremely frightening, The Yamanaka appears to accept you completely." He stopped when he noticed the slight stiffening in Naruto's arms. "Unless there is still something about you that she doesn't know. I am assuming that it has something to do with your prisoner."

Naruto looked back up at Gaara. "I spoke to her once about her family. She had a few aunts and uncles that participated in the defense against the Kyuubi. They had all died slow, violent deaths at his claws. I don't know what would happen if I told her that the same demon that ended the lives of most of her family was trapped inside of me. Too many people that I don't even know, that don't know me, already hate me. I don't want the one person that I care for to hate me as well."

"You will need to tell her some time." Gaara stood up and turned to face his village. "And truth be told, I would think that you have a much better chance of her not hating you that you think. Like you said, the people who hate you are the ones that don't know you, the real you. She has had her whole ninja life to get to know Uzumaki Naruto the person, not Uzumaki Naruto the demon container. And once you tell her, you will find it easier to tell everyone else." He turned back to Naruto. "But the more you wait, the harder it will be." He held up a hand and created a ball of sand. "The more you allow the hate to stop you from speaking, the heavier the burden will become," He gathered more sand into the ball, making it bigger and bigger. "You have to tell someone, allow all of the hate to be let go, and let the burden," He released the sands, letting them fall to the ground. "fall."

Naruto let his words jumble themselves around in his head. Gaara did indeed have a point. As the years went by, and he became closer and closer to his friends, the fear of their reactions towards finding out his secret became more and more of a burden on him. "Maybe you are right Gaara. Maybe I have been holding this one in for too long. But I can't do it just yet. I need to know that she won't go berserk when she hears me out. Maybe not now, maybe not tomorrow, maybe not in a week from now, but I will tell her eventually."

Gaara nodded his head and sat back down. "Good. Now if you have nothing else for me, then you can go now."

Naruto bowed to his friend before turning and leaving the office.

-Guest Rooms, Later That Night-

Yamanaka Ino stepped out of the bathroom wearing a full body bath robe, glad that the Kazekage kept his guest rooms as well furnished and stocked as he would his own room. She took a seat on one of the two single beds that occupied the room, removed the robe and went to her backpack for her clothes. She had just gotten her hands on her bra when she heard a knock on the door. "Hey Ino, it's me."

She smiled at the door. "You can come in, Naruto."

She heard the doorknob rustle a little, and then stop. "Ino, are you decent?"

"Of course I am. I wouldn't let you come in if I weren't." She still had her bra in her hand.

Naruto opened the door and turned to Ino. "Sorry I to-" He immediately turned away, squeezing his eyes shut, and placing both hand over them. "What the hell, Ino?"

Ino let the laughter come like it was natural. She had heard about Naruto's 2 and a half year venture with the Legendary Sannin, Jiraiya, and was well aware of his overbearing perverseness, as she had been in the bath house when she was caught peeping in a few months back. She had always wondered if Naruto had let some of his teachers perverted nature rub off on him, so she attempted to exploit that theory every chance she got. And although he had proven himself to be the gentleman that he claimed to be, she always got a kick out of seeing his reactions to her provocations. "We agreed to no secrets between us, so why shouldn't we be able to see each other naked?" She finished snapping on her bra and fished out her panties

"That's not the same thing, Ino, and you know it." He moved his way across the room towards his own bed, placed his bag down and fished out his own pajamas. "Are you at least half way decent now?"

"Yes, I am." She pulled her panties the rest of the way up her legs.

He turned to see her and sighed. "You know, There are some who would think that your openness with your body is somewhat degrading to your gender."

"Maybe, but you aren't one of them, and since I'm only this open with my body towards you, then it doesn't really matter what they think, now does it?"

He kept his mouth shut at that. Mainly because there was nothing he could say to that. True, he didn't find her exhibitionist activities that degrading; just slightly annoying. He just went to the shower, pajamas in hand, and closed the door. But not before Ino was able to give him a mental tag.

It was another little technique that Ino had developed during the time she spent creating the Mind Imitation Jutsu. This one simply put a small, small fraction of her mind into whomever she 'tagged' allowing her to communicate with them psychically. Though she didn't use it unless she had to, this time was special, as there was something that had been buzzing inside of her mind for a while now. _"Hey Naruto, you mind if I ask you something?"_

Naruto, who had just entered the shower, already knew about this method of communication, as she had tested it out on him first, as she did with most of her jutsus. He also recognized that her tease fest was now over, and she was actually being serious again. _"What's up?"_

Ino had just slipped into her own pajamas, a pair of short and a t-shirt. _"Well, the Kazekage said that most of his good happenings were attributed to him getting a good night's sleep for the first time ever. How does a guy go his whole life without ever going to sleep?"_

_"Ah, that's right. You didn't know about Shukaku before now, did you?" _ He started washing his body off. _"Well, Shukaku is one of the nine tailed beasts. Theoretically, he should be the weakest, seeing as he is the one tail beast, but trust me, he is nowhere near as weak as that. He was sealed inside of Gaara, which gave him an immense chakra boost, but also came at a price. See, Shukaku's strength can only be contained while Gaara is awake. If he falls asleep, Shukaku gets let out, and all hell breaks loose. Because of that, ever since his birth, Gaara has had to stay awake, keeping Shukaku's massive strength sealed away."_

Ino actually stopped everything she was doing to listen to this story. _"Oh my God. He had to stay awake just so he didn't unleash that monster? Why did he even have him sealed up inside of him in the first place?"_

Naruto finished his shower and stepped out to dry off. _"Power. The Sand Village was in a tight spot, so the Kazekage back then ordered that Shukaku be sealed up inside Gaara, thereby turning him into the village's greatest weapon of mass destruction. And considering how much everyone hated him because of the demon that was locked up inside of him against his will, he willingly became that weapon."_

Ino noticed, just barely, the slight hint of resentment that was in his 'voice' as he 'spoke'. Not willing to push him any farther, she broke the connection and left it at that. 'He must really feel sorry for him, for what happened to him.'

Naruto stepped out of the bathroom, clad in his pajamas, topped off with his frog hat. Ino looked at him and smiled. "Sheesh, Naruto, when are you going to get rid of that thing? It just doesn't look right on you anymore."

Naruto stuck out his bottom lip at her. "When are you going to stop flaunting your body at me?"

Ino stood and looked defiantly at his. "Not until you finally admit that you are as perverted as your teacher."

"Then I guess this thing is staying on my head, because I ain't going to admit to something that isn't true." He laid gown in his bed and covered up. "Good night, Ino."

Ino sighed and smiled again. Deep down she had to admit that he looked rather cute with his little hat on. "Night, Naruto." She lay down in her bed as well.

Naruto was sleep minutes after his head hit the pillow, but Ino stayed up for a while longer, wondering about what she had learned today. She would finally go to sleep after lying in bed for a full hour, but not after promising to do a little digging into the past of Uzumaki Naruto.

-End-

Next chapter is done.

I'll try to work Gaara into my late chapters, as he is among my favorite Naruto characters ever. But be honest with me; how did I do with the post Shukaku Gaara?

As always, R&Rhave a nice day.


	5. The Investigation

-Chapter 5 The Investigation-

Uzumaki Naruto is a 20 Konoha ninja currently enlisted into the elite ranks of the Anbu. He has an immune system that is equivalent to an entire army of Maito Gais after they have opened their eighth gate. Yes, he was a ramen obsessed freak, but thanks to his partner, he has been eating other foods, so he is nutritionally stable. As much as he despises hospitals, he does still make all of his regular check-ups. Uzumaki Naruto was the picture of perfect health.

So it should be no surprise that the fact that he had just nearly had a heart attack when he woke up the next morning shocked the hell out of him. At least until he fully comprehended just why he nearly had a heart attack.

The morning sun in the Hidden Sand Village didn't come as it did in Konoha. Whereas Konoha's mornings were pleasantly warm, welcoming every one of its inhabitants to a new day, Sand's mornings were with a vengeance, almost as if it was saying, "Get up. It's time to work." And while the inhabitants never truly mind it, as they are already used to it, if you are an outsider, you will have one hell of a wakeup call waiting for you in the morning. Naruto, however, has been known to sleep like a rock in even the harshest of conditions, so he wasn't at all bothered by this. He would eventually wake up, when whatever ramen filled dream that he was in had ended.

He woke up slowly and, surprisingly, silently. His eyes fluttered open, and he took a deep yawn. He brought his hand up to rib his eyes and then sat up. He was almost completely up when his progress was obstructed by something. Naruto, still in his half asleep state, could not think straight enough to simply open his eyes completely and see what it was, opting to rest his head against the soft surface. He was somewhat surprised to find that there were two of them, but didn't think to question them. He just softly rubbed his head against them, thinking about going back to sleep. All of those thoughts were washed away when a familiar voice, though with a much more seductive tone, snapped him awake. "Ohh, Naruto-kun that feels divine."

His eyes snapped open and his head shot straight forward. He found himself staring at a pair of rather impressive bra covered breasts. Then he noticed that the bra was purple. His head slowly inclined, and he soon met the blue eyes of his partner, Yamanaka Ino. She gave a sultry smile and said, in a voice that would make any man melt, "Good morning, Naruto-kun."

Naruto froze, his face completely white with fear at the fact that his partner was using such a voice with him. Then, after regaining his bearings, his face went completely red. Yamanaka Ino was in his bed, straddling his hips, in nothing but her bra and panties. Naruto knew that he had to do something. He ran through his options. If he were Jiraiya, he would have begun groping her right off the bat. If he were a faggot, or even that bastard Sasuke, he would have been annoyed at her actions and told her to get off. If he were normal, he would have simply asked just what she was doing. However he chose, subconsciously, to go the Uzumaki Naruto route.

Had Ino not been a ninja, she would not have been able to react as fast as she did towards Naruto's reaction. He let out an extremely loud yell and literally launched himself out of his bed, which of course caused Ino to be thrown from the bed as well. Ino was able to land on her feet on the ground, while Naruto fell right on his butt, and began crawling backwards until he made contact with the wall. He then raised a finger towards Ino, and in a very loud, very shocked, and slightly pissed voice, said, "WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING, INO??!!"

Ino was on the ground, on her side, clutching her stomach, laughing harder than she had ever done before. She had never seen her partner react so strongly towards her advances before. It was loud, forceful, and completely out of proportion of her actions. And it was downright funny.

Naruto simply sat there and watched as his partner literally rolled across the floor, looking like she was going to die of laughter. "Oi, Ino, it wasn't that funny!"

Ino finally toned down her laughter enough to start speaking in a language that was considered understandable. "Are you kidding? You should have seen your face. It was worth a million ryo. Far better that Sakura's. And guess what? I finally proved that you are indeed a pervert."

"What are you talking about? I am not a pervert. I thought that those," He pointed to her breasts, "were really soft pillows. That's the only reason I rubbed my head against them."

Ino brushed a strand of hair away from her eyes, and then turned back to her partner. "I wasn't talking about that. I felt you."

Naruto looked at her, his face a complete mask of confusion.

"I mean, it was kinda _hard _not to feel you."

Uzumaki Naruto was as about sexually inactive as one could be. Sure he was a great ninja with a lot of great accomplishments under his belt. He wasn't the most popular ninja that had graced the lands, but he did get the occasional blushed glance from some of the females of his village, and the females of some of the neighboring villages. But in spite of that, he automatically recognized what Ino was implying, the shock that was on his face when he first woke up returning tenfold. Thankfully, his _situation_ had gone down since their conversation had started. "I, I, I, I wasn't even fully conscious when you did that. It just reacted."

Ino continued to prod him on. "My oh my, Naruto-kun. I didn't know that you were soooo big. I actually thought that you were really small, since you never wanted me to see you naked."

Naruto finally stood up not willing to sit through this torture anymore. "I am not a pervert. I am going to get dressed. We are going to eat breakfast, head up to see Gaara, and then we are heading home. I suggest you get ready." He grabbed his clothes and walked into the bathroom, slamming the door shut.

Ino giggled a little more before getting up and dressing herself in her regular purple clothing. "So that is how you get under the skin of Uzumaki Naruto, eh?" She stored this info for later, as she was sure that she would probably need it sooner or later.

Naruto emerged from the bathroom, dressed in his regular clothing as well, and after packing both of their bags, they left the room to finish up what little business they had to while in the Sand Village.

-Road-

Naruto looked like he had been thinking even since they had left the Sand village. And after a few hours of this, she had finally asked him what was thinking about. He said that he was wondering why he was so quick to forgive and forget about all of Ino's body flaunting when it came to him, and had come up with an acceptable conclusion; he couldn't stay mad at Ino simply because she wasn't intentionally trying to make him angry. Ino was just being Ino, and as much as it annoyed him, he wouldn't have it any other way. "And, there is another reason. You help me forget about things." Ino was definitely confused by this, and asked Naruto to explain himself. What he told her made her heart flutter slightly.

Many people said that Naruto's special ability was not his high chakra capacity, super fast healing ability, or even his ability to adapt to any situation. No, his special ability was his ability to promote deep change within everyone he meets. Ino remembered witnessing this first hand during their Kaima extermination mission in Ocean Country. The Kaima, who turned out to be a girl about their age that had experiments done on her, had begun to truly believe that she was indeed a monster. Naruto had been able to convince her that she wasn't, though Ino had yet to figure out how. Now, that same girl had been accepted into Konoha, and went out on missions some of the other Konoha ninjas when the mission area consisted of large bodies of water, though she was not a ninja herself. The experiments had completely shot her ability to utilize her chakra, and even if the Hokage found a way to change her back to her human form, she doubted that she would ever be able to use chakra. Isaribi didn't really mind, however, if she stayed in her current form, or if she could never use chakra. Her abilities allowed her to help people, and that was enough for her.

Naruto, using his knowledge of his own little ability, told Ino that she had an uncanny ability to do things that, at first seem annoying and irritating, but in retrospect help the person to forget about their problems and lighten the mood a bit. And since they didn't have any ramen stands back in the Sand village, Ino went with the next best thing; her body. She never truly means for anything serious to come out of what she does, since she is well aware of the fact that Naruto has not picked up any of his former teachers perverseness. She just knows how to pull Naruto out of whatever funk he is in. And as much as Naruto wishes that she could have come up with a more subtle way of doing this, he still appreciated her for doing what she does.

Ino was now having a hard time believing that Naruto had been single this whole time. When he wanted to be, he could be quite the sweet talker. 'Sakura, you idiot. I'd be willing to bet that he gave you quite a few of these speeches when he was with you. Wonder how many times Sasuke has spoken to you like that.'

Her thoughts soon trailed off when she caught sight of the always welcoming gates of Konoha. "Hey, Naruto, I'll race ya to the gates."

Naruto, not one to pass up a challenge, accepted immediately. Then he pulled out a kunai. "I toss this into the air. When it hits the ground, we take off. Ready?" When he saw her nod her head, he threw it into the air. They both got into ready positions. 'You ain't beating me this time, whisker face.' As soon as the kunai hit the ground, Ino took off………. And Naruto poofed out of existence, causing Ino to stop and look back to see just what the hell happened.

"Oi, Ino!" She looked back to the gates, and was surprised, and annoyed, to see Naruto standing inside of them laughing. "Looks like I won this race."

Ino ran up to him, steaming like a pot of tea. "You moron, you used Kage Bunshin, didn't you? That isn't fair!"

Naruto simply laughed. "You don't have to be a Yamanaka to know what one is thinking. I knew you were going to ask for this race before we saw the gates. I just made it so you didn't have any hope of winning."

Ino looked like she was about to explode, but calmed down. 'He was just planning ahead. I was outsmarted.'

Naruto then turned to the Hokage tower. "Well, I'm going to let baa-chan know that we are back, then I am going to head on over to Ichiraku's for a nice bowl of ramen. What about you, Ino?"

Ino smirked. "Knowing you, it won't be just one bowl of ramen. Well, I have a little bit of researching to do, so I'll probably see you tomorrow." She was hoping that he wouldn't inquire as to what it was she was researching, as she was a very bad liar.

"Ok, then. Hope we don't have too much to do tomorrow. I'll see ya later Ino." And with a whirl of leaves, Uzumaki Naruto was gone.

Ino sighed heavily, glad that she didn't have to explain herself to him, then straightened up and turned into the direction of the training grounds. She ran through her list of prospective targets. "Ok, I can rule out Team Gai. Tenten hasn't spent that much time with him, I can't even get to Neji in that uptight Hyuuga compound, and I don't think I can stand hearing Lee talk for more than 30 seconds. Sakura and Sasuke are definite no's. I doubt I will be going to them any time soon. Shika, Choji, and Kiba used to hang out with him, and Hinata had the biggest crush on him. I guess those four will have to do for now. Ok, let's get to work."' And in similar fashion to Naruto, she disappeared as well.

-Training Grounds-

"No, that's wrong! Try it again, Kiba!" Inuzuka Kiba cringed as his sister's voice, loud as ever, reached his ears. She may have been the nicest person in the world whenever she was in her vet mode, but put her in her Jonin vest and ninja clothes, and you have one scary lady. Her training regimens were not particularly demanding even though they did make him use subtlety and patience to accomplish them, two things the youngest Inuzuka was not known for. Tack on the fact that his sister was practically jumping all over him whenever he made a mistake. This was nothing like Kurenai sensei's training, where she would walk him through each and every step before letting him try to do it himself. No, Hana gave him a task and told him to do it.

This time, she littered the grounds with tons of different scents, gave him a specific scent to find, and said to pick out which warrior from the line of training dummies the scent belonged to. Sounded easy, right? Oh, and most of the scents all smell the same. Hana's logic to all of this was that one day, he might have to go out into the battle field and, in that sea of people, with all kinds of similar smells floating around in the air, determine the location of a specific person, perhaps the enemy commander or strategist. And while Kiba thought that was dumb at first, when he thought about it, it actually made sense to him. So he couldn't get mad at his sister whenever she scolded him for not getting it right. Instead, he doubled his efforts and pushed himself to find the correct smell.

Over on the other side of the field, Hana watched her only brother work at trying to find the correct target, and although she was laying it on him a little hard, she couldn't deny his progress. She had decided to become a professional tracker the minute she got out of the ninja academy, so she had a nice head start towards becoming what she is now. Her brother, however, didn't start until he was 18, was already part of the Anbu when he started his training, and yet had advanced farther than she had in a shorter amount of time. All Inuzukas were natural trackers, but with Kiba, it was almost as if he was born to be a tracker. Though not in front of her brother, this thought constantly brought a smile to her face. 'He will surpass me.'

"Hana-san. How's Kiba doing?" Hana turned around to see Ino running up the path behind her. It wasn't as if the girl's presence surprised her in the least, since she smelt her coming long before Ino ever laid eyes on her. The fact that she was here meant that she was probably looking for Kiba, as he was Anbu along with her.

"Just fine. Still has a ways to go, but he is getting there."

Ino looked out onto the field at Kiba. 'He seems to be working hard maybe I should wait.' However, the older girl wouldn't give her that opportunity. "Kiba, your friend is here. Let's take a break for a while." It was then that Ino realized that Kiba didn't even know that she was here.

Kiba looked up from his position, a look of what appeared to be relief on his face, and strolled over to the two ladies. "Oi, what's up Ino?"

"Nothing much, Kiba, I just had a few questions for you, if you don't mind answering them."

Kiba looked at her, almost analytically, and then turned to his sister, who had already figured out where this was heading. "I'll go see how Akamaru is doing." Hana started walking down the path, leaving the two Anbu alone.

Kiba took a seat on a nearby log. "Glad that's over for now. Sheesh, you wouldn't think she could be as demanding as that by looking at her."

Ino sat across from him. "But it is helping you, right?"

"Yea, but let's not talk about it right now. What did you want to ask me?"

"Oh, yeah right. Well, it's about Naruto." Ino was silent for a moment, wondering just how she would phrase this. "I have been hanging out with him for a little while now, and although most of the time he is his usual self, there are time when he just seems to get depressed for no reason. And when I try to ask him, he just waves it off as nothing, saying it will be ok."

Kiba thought for a moment, remembering some of his own experiences with him. "I know what you mean. I used to hang out with him a lot even before we entered the academy. I saw how he was treated by some of the adults of the village, mine included. I am somewhat relieved that my mom saw the error of her ways after the first time we had to go and try to get back that Uchiha bastard. But the thing that got me the most was that he never complained about it. At least not that I saw. It was like he used their hate for him to grow stronger and stronger."

Ino nodded her head. "He is usually pretty open about himself. You should have seen him talk about everything that he did as a Genin. There was one time, though, that he was particularly vague. When I asked him about why he was friends with the Kazekage, he simply said that they had more in common than we know. And that was it."

Kiba would allow the fact that the Kazekage was friends with Naruto process itself later. Right now he pondered over this new bit of information that Ino had presented him with. "And you want to know just what that thing is?"

"Naruto's been keeping some sort of secret from me. From all of us. The only ones who actually know of this secret apparently are the adults, and they don't appear to wish to tell us. I was hoping that you might know about it."

Kiba sighed deeply. "I wish I could help you out there, but I was trying to figure that part out myself. I couldn't find out anything. I even tried picking at Hinata's brain. You know about her crush on him, how she would follow him around, just so that she could watch him. And she said that she never noticed anything strange about him. He never gave away anything that would explain just why he wouldn't talk about certain subjects in detail."

Ino looked down. "Well, I guess I can scratch Hinata off of the list then. Only other people I can ask are Shikamaru and Choji."

Kiba looked up at her. "Hey, if you need help, let me know. I'll be sure to do whatever I can."

"Thanks, Kiba. I'll see ya later." She stood up and walked back down the path.

Kiba watched her leave for a while, thinking that it was amazing that she was still single after all of this time. Then he lay back on the log and closed his eyes, determined to get as much sleep as he could before his sister came back.

-Hilltop-

On top of a hill not too far away from the village, two ninjas were currently engaging in their favorite respective activities; eating and cloud watching.

Akimichi Choji was currently surrounded by every snack known to man. From chips to cookies, there was no shortage of snack food that escaped his grasp. To some people it was a wonder that the boy wasn't any……….. larger than he was. Choji attributed it to his ninja training.

Nara Shikamaru. It wasn't surprising that he was here, lying on the grass looking up at the clouds, to anyone who knew him, or at least knew who he was. He had stuck his team with some team building exercise; just something to keep them out of his hair long enough to enjoy watching the clouds go by.

His team was almost a direct imitation of the former team ten. His cousin, Nara Shikaru, was just as lazy and almost as smart as he was. He had given the same IQ test that Asuma sensei had given him to Shikaru, and the boy came up with an IQ of 185. Choji's cousin, Akimichi Chogun, ate just as much as his older counterpart, was about the same size that Choji was when he was a Genin, and had just about the same reaction that Choji did to a specific word. Yamanaka Inoria was just as loud, twice as annoying, and ten times as troublesome as her older sibling. The fact that she could probably kick the other two boy's asses in a serious fight only made her that much more troublesome. See, while she was naturally gifted, the first Yamanaka prodigy in ages, that didn't stop her from working hard to improve upon the skills that she was lacking in. Specifically, her taijutsu. She worked as hard as anyone had ever seen one from her family work. It all paid off when she graduated as the Number One Rookie of her class. And as a Yamanaka, she was quick to loudly, and frequently, remind everyone of that. Her favorite target was her sensei.

"Oi, Shika! Choji!" Almost as if the universe were working against him, he turned his head to see the purple clad figure of Yamanaka Ino running up to him. "Sheesh, what did I do to deserve this?"

"Maybe you should be more active, go and train with your students. After all, the other two aren't machines like Inoria. They aren't going to spend their every waking moment training."

Ino had by then reached her two former teammates. "What's this about Inoria? You aren't mistreating her are you?"

Shikamaru scoffed at her comment. "Please, it would be far too troublesome to try to mistreat her. Besides, if anything, she is the one who is mistreating me."

Ino had to give her sister credit. She wasn't completely buying into Shikamaru's lazy orders and was forcing him to at least attempt to do his job. Many wondered whether or not she would have been jealous of her younger sister, since she had the potential to be a far better kunoichi than she was at a far younger age. Ino, however, was proud of her sister, though she would never really show it to anyone but her sister. "Good. That means she is keeping you in your place. And how about you Choji?"

"I'm going to be heading out soon. Dad said he has a bunch of old friends that are in something of a bind, and he's getting permission from the Hokage to let us go and help out."

"I see. Then I'm glad I caught you before you guys left. I need some info and I was hoping that you two could give it."

Shikamaru's eyes perked up at that. "You are actually asking me for info? Are you sure that you are Yamanaka Ino, the second loudest ninja ever, next to Naruto?"

She held her anger in check long enough to get out her next sentence. "Yes, Shika, I am, and it's funny that you should mention Naruto, since he is the subject of my curiosity."

Shikamaru sat completely up at this. "Oh? And what, exactly, do you want to know about him?"

"Well, you two used to hang out with him when he was little, and during our time as ninjas. Did he ever tell you anything weird? Something he hasn't told anyone else?"

Shikamaru eyed her somewhat suspiciously. "What are you getting at, Ino? Do you really think that he would keep something from us?"

Ino inwardly cursed. 'Either he doesn't know, or he doesn't plan on telling me.' "Well, whenever I would touch on a certain subject, he would become particularly vague, and would try to drop the subject completely. I let it go for a while, hoping that if I gave him time he would tell me…."

"But the Yamanaka clan has not been known for their patience." He sighed and looked back up at the clouds. "Unfortunately, you are going to have to wait. The reasons behind all of this date back to when the Sandaime was in office for his second run. He made a rule, which is still enforced by the Godaime, that whoever divulged a certain piece of information concerning Naruto to anyone who didn't would die."

Ino felt a rush of air fill her lungs. "Die? Just for saying something? What could possibly be so bad that the Hokage would really kill someone for saying it?"

"The heck if I know. At any rate, the only way you will know is if you can find out for yourself, or if he tells you. And at the rate he is going, I would expect the former happening before the latter."

Choji finally decided to interject himself into the conversation. "Why don't you just jump into his mind?"

Ino shook her head. "No, I want him to feel like I trust him. I want him to trust me. If I do that, then what does that say for our trust?"

"Ino, face it. You aren't going to find out any other way. And besides, it's not like he will know about it when you are done." Shikamaru spoke while still facing the sky.

Ino was about to say something, but stopped and decided to think about what her friend had just told her. "Thanks you guys. I have some thinking to do." She stood up and headed back to the village.

"Hey, Shikamaru, do you think that she will do it?" Choji asked as he stuffed another handful of chips into his mouth.

"Don't know, don't care. Troublesome girl can jump into the Hokage's mind for all I care. I just wanna get back to staring at the clouds.

Choji smiled down at his friend and then turned to the bottom of the hill, where he saw three figures running towards them. Leading them was a blonde haired, blue eyed miniature of the very same woman that had just left. "Doesn't look like you're gonna get that chance."

Shikamaru tilted his head up just enough to see a sight that brought only one word to mind. "Damn."

-Village-

Ino walked through the village deep in thought; though she divided her attention just enough to make sure that she didn't run into anyone.

Ever since she had found out about this problem with her partner, the very first thing that was on her mind was, "I won't invade his mind." She already knew that people tended to treasure their privacy, and the last thing that she would do would be invade on her partner's. After all, there were some things that people would rather keep quiet about.

However, the longer that this went on, the more it started eating away at her, and the more that she simply could not wait for him to gather up the courage to tell her whatever secret he was hiding. The suggestions of Kiba, Choji, and Shikamaru were now becoming more and more welcoming.

After a while she finally took off in the direction of Ichiraku Ramen. It was empty, meaning that Naruto had not made it to the stand yet. She positioned herself across from the stand, out of sight of anyone who passed by.

Minutes later, Naruto came strolling up from around the corner and sat at the stool, ordering an ungodly amount of ramen. This was it. This was her chance. She ran through the seals and created the window with her hands. She took one more deep breath, preparing her mind for whatever she was getting ready to see.

"Shintenshin no Jutsu!"

-End-

Nothing much to say about this chapter, so R&R&have a nice day.


	6. Trust

-Chapter 6 Trust-

Contrary to popular belief, the mind of a blonde haired, blue eyed, loud, obnoxious human being was not an empty space filled with nothing but air. However, compared to the dark, depressing place that she was standing in right now, Yamanaka Ino would have probably preferred the stereotype.

Ino had jumped into numerous minds in her lifetime, and had been exposed to just as many different types of minds. When she had jumped into her former teammate's mind, she saw clouds. Tons and tons of clouds. The walls, the ceiling, the floor, the furniture, all of it was made of clouds. Her other teammate had nothing but food on, and in, his mind. She didn't even want to think about the last time she had tried to jump into an Aburame's brain. Her father had taught her that the human mind took the form of the most comfortable setting that it could remember. She wondered just what kind of setting a Hyuuga would have in their mind, though she would never get a chance to try it on any one of them. Hinata was a two way exception, since she would probably do anything to prove herself useful to anyone, and yet, since she wasn't like the rest of her stuck up clan, she wasn't really a likely target for her.

So she figured that her Ramen obsessed partner would probably have a world that rotated around his love of ramen. However, she also knew that life had a funny way of taking what you thought and throwing it out the window. And although she was expecting his reality to be different from her fantasy, what she saw inside of his mind brought only one question out of her mouth. "What the hell is this?"

She had never before seen the sewer system of Konoha, but she was sure that what she was looking at right now wasn't all that far off from what they had. The floors and walls were all a depressing tinge of yellow, and appeared to be made of stone. The only sources of light were the occasional openings in the ceiling, which had pipes running along under it. The pipes appeared to be very old and rusted, with some even dripping water onto the already wet floor. Along the hallway were openings that led off to what Ino believed to be his memories.

Ino stood frozen for a long time. Even in some of the most depressed people she had ever used her technique on, she had never, _ever_ seen such a depressing place inside their minds. The fact that this was her partner's mind was a completely different matter altogether. "What could have caused him to have such a state of mind?" Then she remembered that this was why she was in here to begin with. Finally shaking the numbness out of her, she took her fist step into his mind, heading for the first opening that she could reach.

When she got to the end of said opening, she found a door. This was, at least, still within the norm of all people, since these doors were where their memories were stored. She reached out and grabbed the knob, hesitating for a second. "I hope I don't regret this." Clenching her eyes shut she turned the knob and pushed the door open.

When she opened her eyes next, she was standing in the middle of the academy playground. The sky was a fiery orange, so she figured that the day was about to end. Something in the middle of the playground caught her attention. Walking towards it, she recognized the mess of blonde hair as belonging to Naruto. She made it directly behind him, and was somewhat surprised to find that the boy was crying. Her surprise turned to shame when she remembered that she had seen this particular scene many times before. Every time her mother had come to pick her up, she always looked back to see the lone blonde, tears coming down his eyes. She had never seen anyone come to get the boy, but it had never occurred to her that he didn't have parents.

The scene skipped forward a little. He was now standing in the middle of the main road, with a line of adults, Most of them civilians, though there were a few ninjas in the group. All of them were yelling at him, berating him, calling him a demon child, a monster. Ino couldn't stand any of it. In fact, she had already placed her hand over her ears in an attempt to block out the voices. "This is wrong. This is wrong! He isn't a demon, or a monster! He never did anything to them, yet they continue to torture him like this! Why?"

Her emotional outburst would stop when the boy's reaction hit her. "I don't care what you all think. I am going to become Hokage one day, and then all of you will have to accept me." He then turned and ran off, as the crowd of collected adults laughed at his dream. Ino watched the boy leave with a look of wonder on her face. From the looks of everything, he was pretty much hated from the moment he stepped foot into this world. How had his psyche taken all of this without snapping like a twig? How in the hell was this village still standing, still prospering, when they basically had a ticking time bomb within its walls? How much mental endurance did he have?

She finally emerged from that particular memory slightly shaken. It didn't serve the purpose that she was here for, but it did answer why he was so adept at the emotional mask that he put up when he was really depressed. After being picked on and put down for all of his life, what else could he do?

Heading down the next corridor, she opened the next door. Her next destination would be The Valley of the End, where she would bear witness to the first real battle between Naruto and Sasuke. As she watched the battle unfold before her, the thing that scared her more than the fact that Sasuke was actually trying to kill Naruto, was the fact that he seemed to be enjoying himself. This, of course, only lowered her already nonexistent opinion of the last Uchiha. She was about to come up with a brand new curse word just for Sasuke, but her hands automatically covered her mouth when she saw Sasuke pierce through Naruto's body with his Chidori attack. Now, she downright hated him, but that got pushed aside for the time being in favor of Naruto's well being. "How in the hell did he survive that?"

Her answer came in the form of an explosion of red chakra surrounding him. She watched in pure shock as his wound healed right before her eyes. "What the hell?"

The battle raged on, both of them getting progressively stronger, while Ino's knees got progressively weaker. According to Sakura, during this time, they were friends. Sure they squabbled at times, but the still respected each other to an extent. And yet, here they were, fighting as if they were trying to kill one another. Ino, however, was able to see clearly that Sasuke was the only one of the two who was actually intent on ending his opponents life, pinpointed by the fact that he had just put a hole in Naruto's chest, and then again by another particularly gruesome scene that almost caused Ino's heart to stop; the part of the fight where Naruto was driven head first into the ground by Sasuke. When Naruto stood up again, Ino began to wonder if her partner was even human after everything that he had been through, physically and mentally. She barely even noticed how the red chakra had started to take the shape of ears and a tail on Naruto.

The battle continued on, and Ino started to think about a few things. The one thought that continued to recur in her mind was, 'What would the villagers think if they saw this? If they knew how hard Naruto was fighting to bring back their beloved Sasuke, who had turned his back on the village for nothing but power? Considering all of his merits, why wasn't he viewed as a village hero?' She thought about this all the way until the final attack, where Naruto was, obviously and unfortunately, defeated

She emerged from that memory looking like she was ready to break down and burst into tears once again, but held herself steady. She still had a lot of mind to search, and she doubted that this was the end of his painful memories.

As she moved from memory to memory, she began to notice a common factor with all of the memories that she saw here. These particular memories were of him either being berated by someone, be they villager, ninja, or other, or of him using his red chakra, which was becoming a very interesting point for her. She had seen him using it many times, but that was another well guarded secret of his. This led to the conclusion that the red chakra and the villager's anger towards him were related.

She had reached maybe her twentieth memory when she began to consider giving up for now. She still had more than enough chakra to last her for the rest of the day, but she had been shaken by the images she had seen, and she needed to recover mentally before she was shown a memory that pushed her over her emotional edge. She was about to disengage the jutsu when something caught her eye. It was faint, but she definitely caught sight of a flicker of red chakra, similar to the kind that Naruto used. Curiosity getting the better of her, she immediately headed down the corridor.

What she came face to face with was something she had never seen in the human mind before. Naruto's mind contained a cage. A very large one at that. The bars reached all the way up to the ceiling, which had somehow gotten much higher. There didn't appear to be any handles of keyholes, and where one would have been was a piece of paper, a tag with the word "Seal" written on it. "I know this is probably the tenth time I've said this since I've been in his mind, but what the hell is this?" She walked closer to the bars, wondering if that red chakra had come from behind this cage. Her curiosity would almost get the better of her, as she would nearly be impaled by one of a set of four _very_ large claws. Off of pure instinct and quick reflexes alone, she jumped back barely in the nick of time, pulling out a couple of kunai as well. "Who's there?"

The voice that came from the other side of the cage sent a shiver down her spine that could have frozen the entire hidden sand village. "**You aren't the brat. Why are you here?**"

Ino legs left her at that time, and she felt to her knees, he eyes trained on the large shadowy figure that had appeared behind the bars. At first, all she saw was a giant dark spot within the already dark space behind the bars. Then the spot became outlined by a light haze of red, like that haze that surrounded Naruto whenever he tapped into that strange power he had. And then she caught sight of a pair of evil looking eyes, with a row of vicious looking teeth under them. Her voice was now unnaturally quiet. "Who- what are you?"

She heard a sharp sound, almost like a vacuum, and realized that it was sniffing. "**Ah, a mind jumper. That explains how you are here. Now answer my question.**"

Ino was still attempting to process what her eyes were showing her. "How do you know who I am?"

"**I don't. But all of you mind jumpers smell the same. Like flowers."** Ino noticed the slight hint of disgust in the creature's voice.

"How do you know this? What are you? Why are you in here?" She had let her mouth take over, since her brain was still wondering why or how this thing was in Naruto's mind.

"**You people all taste the same too. I remember the last one I ate."** More of his teeth showed, and Ino figured that it was this thing's attempt at a smile. **"She actually though that she could control my mind. I made sure to savor her flavor. Even if she would end up being the last meal I would end up having in over twenty years."**

That last little comment hit Ino like a ton of bricks, and the first thing that she reacted with was anger. "You bastard! Don't you dare disrespect my family like that! I swear to the gods that I will ki-" She cut herself off as the logical part of her brain had finally put two and two together. Her face went from red with anger to white with fear in about the time it would take Naruto to finish a small bowl of ramen. "No, it can't be. You can't be….."

The creature chuckled at her realization. **"I see that you aren't as airheaded as I thought." **He let the haze around him brighten up, and Ino watched in horror as it took the form of a very large animal with pointy ears and nine tails.

"K-K-Kyuubi no Kitsune?" She could barely get the words out of her mouth. "But this can't be possible. The Yondaime destroyed you 20 years ago. He gave his life to rid us of you."

The Kyuubi merely chuckled again. **"Is that the lie that they are feeding you people? Humans are so naïve." **He turned his stare back down towards Ino. **"That bastard couldn't beat me, so he did the one thing you humans do whenever you meet a power that you can't control."**

Ino had gained a new understanding for riddles since she had been teamed up with Shikamaru, and realized what the Kyuubi had meant almost as soon as it left his mouth. And almost at the same time, another shocking truth hit her. "You are sealed inside of Naruto?"

The nine tailed beast gave out an annoyed snort. **"Leave it to one of you to state the obvious."**

"So you are the reason that Naruto is miserable? You are the secret that he has been keeping from everyone?" Ino had finally found her legs again and was able to stand back up.

"**So he really hasn't told anyone about me. I thought the brat would have grown enough of a spine to speak up about me." **

"But what do have to do with why he is hated by the people?" Ino had relaxed her stance, feeling slightly safe with the bars separating her form the Kyuubi.

"**Sorry, kid, but I don't know that. I may be able to see outside of these bars whenever the brat uses my chakra, but other than that, this is all I see. If you want to know, ask him yourself."**

Ino sighed in defeat. 'So in the end, the only one who can tell me about Naruto is Naruto.' She liked back up at the nine tailed beast. "I want you to know that I still hate you. You have caused me and my family tons of pain and suffering."

"**And I don't regret any of it."**

Ino pushed her anger aside for just a minute. "But, from what I saw of Naruto's memories, if it hadn't been for you he probably wouldn't be alive today. So, thank you for keeping my partner alive."

"**Don't waste your breath. I only help him because if he dies, I die."**

'Self preservation, even if it means being cursed to remaining trapped inside of a human until he dies.' The laws of nature carried over even to powerful demons like him.

Finally having enough of her little excursion into her partners mind, she formed a special seal. "Disengage!" All at once, the world inside of Uzumaki Naruto's mind disappeared.

Ino woke up back in the real world, in the same spot that she had left her body when she had activated her jutsu.

Once she had gotten her bearings, she looked up to see Naruto, still chowing down at his favorite ramen stand. Not wanting to confront Naruto about what she had learned that day, she disappeared, leaving a whirlwind of leaves where she once was.

-3 days later-

It was a known fact of life to Uzumaki Naruto that the female species of human beings were weird. He knew this from experience.

First on his list was Haruno Sakura. He remembered everything that he had every done for her, from the time he had saved her from Gaara during the Chuunin exam, to the time he made his promise to bring back Sasuke, which he eventually did. And he never received even a hint of gratitude from her. Yet she was totally prepared to thank Sasuke for something that he probably never did. Haruno Sakura; weird.

Hyuuga Hinata. Ok, maybe most of this was his fault for being so young, stupid, and dense that he never noticed how much the girl truly admired him. However it wasn't like she had ever made a direct approach to him. He would have gladly acknowledged her infatuation for him if she would have been open with him about her feelings. It kinda made him wonder why girls have to make such a mystery about how they feel about someone. If you like someone tell them. This is what put Hyuuga Hinata on Naruto's weird list. Then again, she was there even before all of this happened.

Tenten. She was an excellent kunoichi. A great fighter, deadly with any sort of weapon, smart, and, surprisingly given the company she keeps, still completely sane. The only reason Naruto could think of for putting her on his list was her infatuation with the Hyuuga prodigy. Yes, he is a part of the most prestigious family in all of Konoha, yes he is quite possibly the most powerful of the members of that family even though he is a part of the branch family, and yes he may have been her classes number 1 rookie, but Naruto figured that personality had to play some part in choosing a potential mate. He really couldn't see what she saw inside of the Hyuuga genius, similar to how he couldn't see what Sakura saw inside the Uchiha survivor. So, Tenten; weird.

Let's not even get started on Mitarashi Anko.

However, the actions of his partner, one Yamanaka Ino, in the last three days had been so weird that it was even beyond weird for a female.

The day after they returned from wind country, Ino had up and disappeared on him. He went to her apartment to see if she wanted to hang out or something, and found that she wasn't there. He went to her family's flower shop, just to see if she had decided to visit her mother and sister, and found that neither of them had seen her that day either. He sought out and asked Kiba and Shikamaru if either of them had seen her, but there was no luck with them either. So he thought that maybe she was out on a mission somewhere, but dashed that idea when the Hokage told him that she hadn't handed out any Anbu worthy missions in a while. Scratching the back of his head in confusion, he gave up and headed to the training grounds. Had he have checked one of his usual spots instead of just hers, he would have found her atop of the Hokage monument, lost in thought.

The next day, she did a complete 360 degree turn. Instead of being invisible, she was too visible. She met him outside his apartment door that morning, and greeted him with a hot cup of instant ramen. She then offered to help him train that day, going so far as to helping him to control his Rasenbomb a little better. She even offered to pay for his ramen at Ichiraku's, not even nagging him about how unhealthy she thought his diet was. In fact, she even ordered herself a bowl of beef ramen.

Naruto's curiosity had reached its peak. His partner was acting far stranger than humanly acceptable for him. So on the third day, he decided that he would confront her about all of this.

He was on his way to Ichiraku's ramen stand when Ino caught up with him, asking if he wanted to do something today.

Naruto was not known for his discreetness, so it was no surprise when he jumped right to the point when he turned to his partner. "Ino, what is wrong?"

Ino, obviously, played dumb. "What do you mean, Naruto? Nothing's wrong."

"Don't kid me Ino. You disappear for an entire day, and then you're not out of my sight the next. Something's going on, and I want to know what."

Ino's overly forced good mood seemed to disappear right then and there. "I was busy that day, and I wanted to make up for it the next."

"You never try this hard just to please me, and you haven't even attempted to flirt with me. Something's up."

Ino turned her gaze from him. "Damnit, Naruto, why can't you just accept the fact that Maybe I just wanted to be nice to you?"

Naruto raised his voice a little. "Because you were already just being nice to me. You knew I was depressed about Sakura and you allowed yourself to get closer to me. And I was happy again. You have no reason for doing any of this." Even as the words left his mouth, he saw how the look on the face of his blonde haired partner took a turn for the worse. "Unless you think there is another reason for you to be nice to me. A reason bigger than Sakura."

Ino held back the tears that were inevitably going to fall. "No, I don't think there is. I know there is." She turned her face back up to meet Naruto's stare. "I know about it. About your prisoner."

-Ino's P.O.V.-

She had replayed confessing it to him numerous times in her mind, going through a handful of different scenarios. None of them were anything like the one she was going through right now.

She should have figured that Naruto would have inquired into her motives for spending, quite literally, the entire day with him when she was M.I.A. the day before. In the back of her mind, she had hoped that he wouldn't have tried to find her. She had spent the entire day at the one place she thought he wouldn't go to look for her, and tried to collect her thought. By the end of her brainstorming session, she had decided to simply try to forget about everything that she saw in his mind, and work towards keeping him happy, healthy, and ignorant of her invasion. She was sure that her excuse would have sufficed for Naruto. The fact that he had dug even deeper was a surprise to her. Though not nearly as surprising as the fact that he had actually sounded worried about her. It only made making the confession that much harder.

Naruto had a look of shock on his face, and it didn't take Shintenshin no Jutsu to know that it wasn't the fact that she knew that was running its way through his mind. And like all of his thoughts, he didn't keep this one to himself. "How do you know about him? None of the adults could have told you, and none of our friends knew. The only ones of our generation who know are Sakura and Sasuke, and I know you didn't get it from them."

Ino was sure that he had already surmised just who she knew what she knew, but wanted her to prove him wrong. Wanted her to say that she didn't break their trust. "I used Shintenshin no Jutsu."

Naruto's face went completely blank at that. Ino found that she couldn't meet his eyes, and had to turn hers away.

When Naruto didn't say anything, Ino forced herself to turn her head back to him, only to find that he wasn't standing in front of her anymore. Even when he was trying to be silent he could never pull off teleporting away without her knowing.

Ino had already figured out where he would be heading almost as soon as she realized that she was now standing in the middle of the road alone. Her legs automatically started moving in the direction of the Hokage monument, her mind set on salvaging her friendship, along with her partnership, with the blonde haired boy. Sure enough, sitting on a rock atop the Yondaime's head, was the unmoving figure of Naruto. She walked slowly towards him, not wanting to disturb his thoughts until he was done with them. Unfortunately for her, Naruto finished whatever thought process he was going through the moment she was close enough to hear him. "Now you know why my birthday and the festival are on the same day."

Ino couldn't tell if he was being serious or if he was simply joking with her, but really didn't care either way. It didn't stop her from sitting on the rock next to him and saying the only thing she could think to say, no matter how much she thought it wouldn't help. "I'm sorry, Naruto."

"I remember all of the times the Sandaime use to talk to me about stuff after Mizuki tried to defect. He told me a lot about the Kyuubi and the Yondaime. He said that when the Yondaime sealed the Kyuubi inside of me, his dying wish was that I would be seen as a hero of the village for housing the Kyuubi inside of my body, preventing it from terrorizing anyone else. The Yondaime's legacy, that was what I was called. Fat lot of good that did for me, huh?" He grabbed the hem of his shirt and lifted it up, revealing the seal that was on his stomach.

"A Four Seasons Seal? That is why you really didn't want me to see you without clothes?"

Naruto lowered his shirt again. "Tell me, what would you have done if you found out about it?"

Ino looked back up at him. "I would have asked you what it was, you would have given me some lame excuse for it, and that would have been the end of it."

Naruto shook his head slowly. "Then you really don't know yourself, do you? You would have pretended to drop it, but then start looking in scrolls for this seal, find out that a seal this complex is only used to contain something, get curious about what it was, and eventually do what you did."

Ino opened her mouth to protest, but couldn't. He had been exactly right. If she had been thinking like she usually did, she would have done everything that he said she would.

Naruto threw her a look, and Ino recognized the expression as a mix of anger, disappointment, and hurt. "Why? Why couldn't you have kept your mind to yourself? Why couldn't you wait until I was ready to let it be known? Had it ever occurred to you that I had some things that I wanted to keep to myself?"

Ino retreated back a little, surprised at the emotion that she was receiving from him, but stopped. He had just given her the ammunition she needed to fight back. "What the hell are you talking about? Things you wanted to keep to yourself? When we were paired up, we agreed to share everything, not just attacks, not just jutsu's, but everything. The idea was that if we were to operate as a cohesive unit, we would need to know everything about each other. If we can't trust each other with our secrets, then how could we trust each other? Yes, I may have broken your trust when I invaded your mind, but you broke mine when you chose not to tell me this."

Naruto did not relent with his side of the argument. "This is different, Ino. When you say secrets, you mean thing that we are embarrassed about, things that we don't want anyone to know about because we are afraid of people making fun of us about. This is a monster locked up inside of me."

"But it's the reason why the older generations hated you. It's the reason why the younger generations were told to hate you. It's the reason why you were in the protection of the Anbu for a period of your life. The reason why you have all of these amazing abilities, the reason why you disappear during the festival, and the reason why you get depressed for no apparent reason." She turned her look back to the village. "When you get depressed like that, I feel like we fall out of sync during our missions. When that happens, our mission performance falters. I needed to know why so that I could hopefully help you through it, or at least find a way to keep it from affecting us." She turned her head down. "And not just us as far as missions go."

Naruto had gone completely silent. "What do you mean?"

"I mean I like spending my free time with you. I like planning out pranks that we could pull on some of the villagers. I even enjoy eating ramen with you." She turned back to him. "When you aren't yourself, I feel bad. I feel like helping you any way I can. I have nothing to hide from you, and I want you to feel just as comfortable around me." She sent him a smile that could melt even Sasuke's heart. If he had one. "I'm not asking you to be with me. I'm not even asking you to like me. I just want you to be able to trust me completely, and let me do the same for you. Can you do that, Naruto?"

She wasn't shunning him; she wasn't yelling at him, she wasn't even angry at him. And if she was, it was only because he never told her all of his secrets. She had accepted him as he was, no strings attached. He allowed a small grin to cross his face. "Yeah, I guess I can do that."

Ino reached over and hugged her partner tightly. "Thanks, whisker face." She released him and turned back to the village. "So, was that what you meant when you said that you and the Kazekage had more in common than we know?"

"Yeah, that was. And you can call him Gaara, you know. He won't mind." He stood up and stretched up. "Ok, I'm going to get me something to eat. You wanna come?" He started walking towards the path that leads down from the monument to the village.

"Sure." She stood up. "But before we do, there is just one thing that I need to get off of my chest." She made another window seal. Naruto turned around just in time to see her activate one of her favorite jutsus. "Shinranshin no Jutsu. (Body traitor technique.)

Naruto froze immediately. "I- Ino, what are y-you…" She didn't answer. She just used her somewhat partial control of his body to raise his hand and ball it into a fist. She sent him a devilish grin before forcing him to drive his fist right into his groin.

Naruto's eyes looked like they were about to pop out of his head. His breathing had stopped momentarily. His mouth was wide open, but there was nothing coming out or going in. Ino then made him lie down and spread his arms. She walked over to him and, throwing every subtlety she had to the wind, placed a foot onto his private parts. She bent down so that he was looking straight up at her face. "Let's make one thing perfectly _clear_," At this she put a little bit of pressure onto her foot, and would do so at every point of emphasis during her speech, "between the two of us. If you _ever_ try and keep something this serious from me _ever_ again, and I find out about it, then what I have just done to you will seem like a walk in the park compared to what I will _do_ to you. _Got_ it?" She allowed him to move his head enough so that he could nod it, which he did. "Good." She released her jutsu and walked away, stepping on her partners family jewels as she did.

Naruto stayed there for a long time, clutching himself. After ten minutes of trying to caress his package without making it seem perverted, he stood up slowly and started limping down the path, one thought on his mind.

"Gaara was right. I should have told her sooner."

-End-

And that is it for my latest chapter. I will try to get my next one up soon.

R&R&have a nice day.


	7. Dinner and a Rematch

-Chapter 7 Dinner and a Rematch-

"You were right. I definitely should have told her sooner." He had thought that admitting that Gaara was right to the Kazekage's face would have been a hell of a lot harder than that. Somehow though, when you were trying to not get your ass kicked, things like that seemed a hell of a lot simpler than they should have been.

Among other drastic changes in his routine, one of Gaara's many extracurricular activities was frequent training sessions with anyone and everyone who was willing to try their luck with him. After a while, he had gotten bored of beating his brother and sister, as they were the only ones who were game enough to even attempt to face him one on one, and started requesting ninjas from the Hidden Leaf Village to travel to the Hidden Suna Village to train with him. Of course, the only one who was willing to accept the invitation was the only one who could actually get away with talking to the Kazekage as if they were on equal grounds. Gaara was completely ok with this, as a battle with Naruto promised to be about as different as spots on a cow each time.

"Sheesh, I lose the one thing about me that everyone fears, and everyone stops taking my words seriously. If I had know this was going to happen I would have made sure that took back Shukaku the first chance I got." The red haired Kazekage was currently engaging Naruto in an endurance exercise. He reverted back to his old days of simply standing in one place and letting his sand do all of the work, while Naruto did his best not to get caught up in the sand, or get pushed around in said sand. He remember the thrashing that Lee had gotten during the preliminaries of his first Chuunin Exam, and he would be damned if he allowed himself to get caught up in that.

"I know, I know. You were right. Again. And seeing as you are now the all seeing, all knowing Gaara, maybe you can help me out with something." Naruto launched himself out of the way of another close sand trap.

"Oh, and what might this be?" Gaara's face tilted slightly to the side, the corner of his mouth rose just as slightly.

"Well I want to apologize to her somehow. I mean, sure she said that we were back on good terms, but I get the feeling that the punishment she inflicted on me nowhere near covered the amount of anger that she had built up inside of her. I want her to know that I am really sorry for what I did to her, but I don't know what to do."

Gaara watched his training partner in mild amusement. Aside from marveling at how clueless he was to the opposite sex, which if his completely ignorance towards the feelings of a certain Hyuuga were any indication meant pretty damn clueless, he had to give the blonde some credit for dividing his attention so much and still being able to keep up with his attacks. "Must I do everything for you?"

Naruto turned an almost angry glare at him. "Well, excuse me for not being you, Gaara. You at least have an entire fan base of female ninjas and villagers vying for you affections. I actually have to work to get the attention of a girl."

Gaara closed his eyes and gave his now trademark cocky grin. "Well, when- I mean _if_ you become Hokage, girls _might_ start chasing after you everywhere you go."

Had this been the Naruto of old, he would have automatically begun his loud and obnoxious rant about how he _was_ going to become Hokage, but this Naruto subdued that impulse in favor of his current situation. "Ha ha, very funny. Now, you got any ideas?"

The Kazekage managed to look thoughtful even as he was to catch his opponent in his sands. "Well, ask any woman in the world, and they will say that the sweetest thing any guy can do for them when they are trying to apologize is buy them flowers. Though, if I am right, that might be something of a sticky situation for you."

Naruto jumped backwards to avoid an onslaught of sand attacks. "Yeah, Ino's family runs the only flower shop worth mentioning in our village, and I don't want to chance going there to buying flowers for her when she is there."

Gaara nodded his head, though if it was to signal his next attack, or in acknowledgement to Naruto's plight, Naruto wouldn't know. "We have a florist that specializes in exotic flowers here. I'm sure that she could help you pick out a decent bouquet for your friend."

"Ok, one thing down." He sped up his evasion after Gaara started using his sand shurikens. "If I remember correctly, girls love it when they get treated to dinner. Maybe I could take her out to Ichirak-" He wasn't sure just how Gaara had done it, but before he knew it, Naruto was trapped inside of Gaara's Sabaku Kyuu. Gaara brought him forward until he was face to face with him.

"If you value your life, or at least your balls, you will not even mention that place around her while you are apologizing. Do I make myself perfectly clear?"

Naruto was genuinely scared. He could not remember a time when Gaara seemed scarier than he was at this very moment. "S-s-s-s-s-sure Gaara, no problem there. But then where am I supposed to take her. You already know about the problems that my prisoner causes me. There isn't another place in the village that will let me eat there. And you should also know that I can't cook to save my life, unless we are talking about ramen."

Gaara released Naruto, closed his eyes, and folded his arms. "I can help you there as well."

Naruto looked somewhat confused as to how he could possibly do so, but decided to simply wait and listen to what he would say.

-Hidden Leaf Village-

Ino had to admit that her sister had progressed at a rate that she would have thought impossible.

Ino was currently helping her sister along with her training by teaching her one of their clan's more advanced techniques; Shinranshin no Jutsu. True, she probably should have left it to her parents to teach her the advanced moves, but with her sister's first Chuunin examination drawing near, Ino figure it would be better for her to go in with at least one good weapon from her family. Not that she would need it if her other skills said anything about her. For all Ino knew, Inoria could have easily gotten through the exam without activating one jutsu if she wanted. Still, it couldn't hurt to have a few more weapons at her disposal.

As it turned out, she learned the move way faster than she could have ever hoped for. She had only showed her the jutsu an hour ago, and Inoria was already contorting her teammate's limbs into near impossible angles. The young Genin was completely ecstatic, not able to wait until she could try out her new move on her lazy sensei. Ino briefly contemplated giving her former teammate fair warning as to what was to come, but decided against it. After all, he probably had it coming to him for being such a lazy teacher.

"Hey, onee-chan, you have any other moves that you can teach me? This one looks like it will get pretty boring pretty fast?" Inoria finally turned away from the Cho third of her team, who was starting to resemble the pretzel that he was currently attempting to put into his mouth.

Ino thought for a second. She was already pushing her luck teaching her sister the Shinranshin no jutsu. If she taught her anymore, her parents just might start to wonder. Learning one jutsu on your own in such a short amount of time was ok. Learning two was suspicious. But almost at the same time, she came to a realization. Her family would definitely get on her case for teaching her sister jutsus outside of the normal order, seeing as most rookies didn't learn advanced family jutsus until they had at least one Chuunin exam's worth of experience as a ninja. However, there was one jutsu that she could teach without fear of her family getting on her about it, since it was a jutsu that had not been added as an official family jutsu. Yet. "Yeah, I got one more for you. And trust me; this one will be sure to put that lazy sensei of yours in his place."

Inoria's face brightened up at that statement but before Ino could get one word out, a kunai came out of nowhere and planted itself into the tree next to them. Ino immediately went on the defensive, placing herself in front of her sister looking in the direction the kunai came from. When she saw no one she looked towards the kunai. She nearly had a heart attack when she saw a piece of paper attached to the kunai and was about to grab Inoria and jump away. However, she got a good look at it and saw that the writing on it looked familiar. She loosened up considerably when she recognized the writing as belonging to her own partner.

She yanked the piece of paper off of the kunai, opened it up all the way, and read it.

'Meet me at my apartment at 7:00. Bring your appetite.'

Ino stared down at the piece of paper confused. He wasn't exactly asking her out on a date, but it did have that kind of date feel to it. She had a quick conversation with herself about his proposal. She was still slightly angry with him for what he did, so she was tempted to simply crumple up the piece of paper and forget about him for now. However, much to the surprise of just about everyone who knew her, she tended to use her logical mind more than the average ninja. And logically, the only reason they had this argument was because his little secret was causing their synchronization to suffer. So logically, if they wanted to get back in sync, they would need to spend a little more time around each other, especially now that she knew his little secret. So logically, she would meet him at his apartment fifteen minutes early, an ingrained and sometimes annoying habit that she picked up when she started coming into work later than usual, and be ready for whatever he had in store.

"Hey, onee-san, what was with the kunai? Someone out to kill you?" Ino had all but forgotten that she was with her sister, so her voice caused Ino to jump slightly.

"With the amount of people that I have killed since becoming an Anbu, I wouldn't doubt it. But no, this was just reminder from my not so better half, telling me we have a meeting at seven." Technically, that was true. She was meeting with him at seven, and still wasn't sure just what would happen after that. The last thing she wanted to do was lie to her far more intuitive than she should have been little sister, even if she wasn't a Yamanaka. Then again, when it came to Naruto, it wasn't like she had much to hide from her. Inoria also knew of Naruto. The three of them had spent some time training with each other in the past, and Naruto and Inoria had even pulled a few pranks on some of the elders. Inoria was more than flattered to hear Naruto call her one of the greatest pranksters he had ever met, as Ino had informed her of his distinction as an infamous prankster when he was her age, citing his remodeling of the Hokage monument as one of his greatest works. Her response; "Would there be some sort of copyright infringement charge if I did the same thing sometime?"

Inoria simply nodded her head at her older sister. "Ok, then could you tell Naruto-nii-san to stop by the shop sometime? I haven't seen him around as much lately, and I want him to give me a few tips about the Chuunin exams."

Ino tilted her head to the side, somewhat confused. "What? Haven't I and Shika told you more than enough already?"

"Yeah, but from what you told me, Naruto-nii-san was the center of attention basically from start to finish, and that is what I need to be."

Ino sighed and laughed lightly. "Ok, then I suppose I'll make sure he knows that you are looking for him. But for now, do you want to learn that new jutsu or not?"

Inoria turned her attention back to her older sister and nodded eagerly. "Ok, just one condition. If mom or dad asks, you learned Shinranshin no jutsu on your own. I'm sure by now that you have seen Shika's Kage Mane no Jutsu (Shadow Imitation Technique), correct?"

-Naruto's Apartment-

Naruto, by no stretch of the imagination, was ever perceived as a person that got nervous by anything. No matter what the situation was, he was either scared shitless, or he wasn't. There was no such thing as middle ground as far as Naruto was concerned.

So the sight of said ninja pacing back and forth in his apartment, constantly looking up at the clock, even though it was a half hour before Ino was suppose to show up, would have been a sight to behold for all of Konoha, if there was anyone there to truly appreciate the sight.

Naruto was still dressed in his regular ninja clothes, partly because he wasn't trying to give Ino the impression that they were going on a date, and partly because he had nothing else nicer than what he was wearing that that very moment. Gaara had already told him that everything would be ok. All Naruto had to do was take her to the restaurant, and everything else would fall into place. Naruto really had no choice but to believe that the Kazekage would hold true to his word, and that by the end of this night, he and Ino would be officially back on good terms.

He had been so wrapped up in whatever though process he was in, that he hadn't even noticed just how fast time went by, and fifteen minutes later, he heard a light knock on the door, and it nearly scared him completely out of his skin. He recovered a moment later, walked to the door, and was a bit surprised to find his partner standing there; though once he remembered the little habit she picked up, it made perfect sense to him. "Hey, Ino."

Ino stood at his door, also dressed in her usual clothes, sans the fishnet knee and elbow guards. "Hey, whisker face. Listen, I really don't feel like going to Ichiraku's today, so if it is ok with you…."

"No, that's good, 'cause we aren't going to Ichiraku's to eat." This, of course caused both of Ino's eyebrows to skyrocket.

"Ok, then where are we going? I doubt you can cook all that well, you invited me so you already know that I ain't cooking, and there isn't any other place in the village that will let you eat there. So just what do you expect me to do with the appetite that you told me to bring?"

Naruto couldn't help the smile that came across his face. "Don't worry. You'll see soon enough." He closed the door, locked it, and led Ino out of the building, down the road, and to an area of town that had been recently under construction. A few more minutes and they were at a rather large restaurant with a big 'Grand Opening' banner on top of it.

Ino looked at it with a slightly perplexed look on her face. "The Oasis? What is this?"

Naruto stopped at the front door. "The result of a little bit of coordination between Gaara and Tsunade-baa-chan. While Orochimaru and Akatsuki were still around, the dealings between Konoha and Suna were strictly business. Supplies, military secrets, stuff like that. However, once peace was brought back, they wanted to strengthen the bond between the two of us. Introduce each other to a little bit of the other's culture. And what better way to do that than to open a restaurant that serves some of the best cuisines that Suna has to offer, while we do the same in their village. And the best part about it is that all of the staff are from the Hidden Suna Village, and since the see me as a hero for helping to save Gaara when Akatsuki kidnapped him, they are going to welcome me with open arms." He looked thoughtful for a few seconds. "I hope this doesn't make Teuchi-ossan and Ayame-nee-chan jealous or anything."

Ino giggled slightly at his joke, and entered the restaurant, where the door man showed them to a couple of empty seats, handed them a couple of menus, and said that a waitress would be there shortly with a couple of cups of tea.

As Ino fingered her way through the menu, one of the waiters came over to them, his arm behind his back. "Excuse me, but you are Yamanaka Ino, correct?"

Ino averted her eyes from the menu up to the waiter. "Yes, that's me."

He cleared his throat and spoke in the most polite voice he could muster. "A gift from one Uzumaki Naruto." He brought his hand from around his back, bringing with it a bouquet of red and white roses. And I don't mean half the roses were red and half the roses were white. The color of each individual rose was red and white.

Naruto looked up at the roses in awe. 'Wow. I knew he said exotic flowers, but Gaara really came through this time.'

Ino had a similar look upon her face as she slowly reached up and took the roses in her hands. She closed her eyes and took in the smell of the roses, and exhaled lightly. "Naruto, these are beautiful. But why did you…." Before she could finish her question, she caught sight of what appeared to be a card within the roses. She reached in and carefully pulled it out. She opened it up and read what was inside.

'Ino,

I know that our partnership, our friendship means a lot to you. I wish I would have known that before I decided to keep my secret from you. It was my most closely guarded secret so I guess I was just used to keeping that way. And even before your little punishment, I understood how wrong I was. Like you said, you don't have to like me, but I just want you to know that I trust you, and that I will do my best to make sure that you can do the same for me.

What I am really trying to say is that I am sorry for not telling you everything, mainly because I haven't truly apologized to you yet. I know that this probably doesn't even come close to making up for what I put you through, but it was the best that I could come up with.

Partner and friend,

Uzumaki Naruto.'

Ino was desperately trying to hold back whatever tears that she could. Never before had someone ever done this much for her just to say they were sorry. She heard a little bit of movement across from her, and when she looked up, she was met with a sight that could have made any girl weak in the knees after what she had just read. Uzumaki Naruto was on his hands and knees with his forehead touching the floor.

Ino stared down at the boy in wonder, her eyes terribly close to releasing the tears that had welled up in them. She was barely able to stand and walk the two steps to her partner. She kneeled down and placed a hand on his shoulder, causing him to look up. With the teariest eyed smile she could muster, she said, "I forgave you when I punished you. Partners, friends," she paused to sit him upright and gave him a tight hug, "and maybe more, sometime." She would be lying if she said she hadn't considered dating Naruto, and right now, that prospect was about as likely an option as Inoria making Chuunin after her first exam. Naruto eyes had opened up wide when she said that they could possibly become an item. He had thought that his chances with landing someone with even a quarter of the beauty that Ino had, and yet here she was basically opening the red carpet for him. It was mind blowing.

They stayed like that for a while, and only got back into their seats when the waitress came with their tea, ready to take down their orders. Ino ordered a Sabaku Salad with a side of Cactus Coleslaw. Naruto pulled himself away from his ramen craze long enough to order a Buzzard Beef Steak with Suna Rice.

An hour later, they were both finishing up their food, Naruto actually eating like a decent human being this time. Naruto leaned back against his chair and exhaled loudly. "Man that was good. What did you think Ino? Ino?" When his partner didn't answer, he turned to her, and was somewhat surprised to see her looking past him. Once he turned around, he figured out why. Seated a few tables away from them were Sasuke and Sakura, currently engaged in some sort of one sided conversation, with Sakura taking the lead.

An idea popped into the mind of Naruto, and he immediately turned towards his partner. "Hey Ino, haven't you ever wondered just what Sakura saw inside of that Uchiha head case?"

"Yeah, of course I ha-" She cut herself off when she saw the look in her partners face. She had only seen that look once before, and not surprisingly, it was during their last encounter with the Haruno and Uchiha duo. "What are you planning?"

"Since we are both so curious, what do you say you go ahead and find out just what makes Sakura's mind tick when it comes to," And he said this in his best Sakura impression, "Sasuke-kuuuuuuun."

Ino just barely stifled the laughed that had come then. "Ok, then. Cover for me while I'm gone." And almost a little too enthusiastically, made the window with her hands, centered Sakura on it, and said the magic words. "Shintenshin no jutsu."

-Sakura's Mind-

Compared to most minds that she had seen, Ino found Sakura's mind to be relatively boring.

When Ino regained consciousness, she was standing in the middle of a long hallway, kinda like one you would see in a fancy hotel, only without any of the bright colors or comfortable carpets. It was just a plain old hallway with plain old wooden doors to her memories. Ino usually didn't jump into things, even other people's minds, without at least thinking every little aspect through. However, she had been so eager to get some sort f ammunition against Sakura that she jumped straight in without even thinking about how she was going to find the memory she needed.

Fortunately, billboard-brow had made that particular search easy. Near the end of the hallway, there were three doors that looked decidedly different from the rest. Ino recognized them as special doors that some people had in their minds. Normally, people simply had a long hallway of doors that led to their memories, but if someone had a specific person that they felt strongly about, whether they felt love or hate, then those people got their own doors that led to a special hallway, filled with memories of that specific person. And Ino was sure that without a shadow of a doubt, her memories of Sasuke were behind one of those doors. Ino walked up to the farthest door on the right, opened it up, and walked in.

Ino had never been able to see inside her own mind, but she doubted that it would look much different from what she saw inside of door number one. The entire room was purple. The exact same shade of purple that Ino was known to wear on a daily basis. The only color alterations throughout the entire room were the doors. The right side of the room had white doors, and the left side of the room had black ones. After checking three of each one, she found that the right side of the room contained Sakura's good memories of her, and the left side was the bad ones. She was somewhat surprised to find that their fight during the Chuunin exam was among her good memories.

Leaving that room, she entered the room right next to it. As soon as she stepped in, she felt an ominous chill run straight down her spine, and it didn't take long for her to realize why. This was Naruto's room. And unfortunately, there was nothing good about it. She only confirmed this when she checked just a few of her memories of the blonde haired prankster. Every memory was of him simply trying to gain her attention or her acknowledgement, and her ruthlessly turning him away. Some of the things that she did to him actually caused Ino to think even less of the pink haired girl than she already did.

"Ok, two down, only one more left to see." She exited Naruto's room, turned right, and opened the door to the Uchiha part of Sakura's memory. When she saw the layout for the room, she didn't know if she wanted to laugh, puke, or do both. The walls, the floors, the ceiling, and the doors were all clad with pictures of Sakura and Sasuke doing all manner of things. Picnics, swings, cuddling, everything. There was even a door with a neon sign above it that said 'This memory is rated mature. All ninjas under 18 years of age may not enter.' Ino closed her eyes, spun around, stopped, opened her eyes, and walked straight for the door she was pointed at.

She was initially confused when she entered a room with two more doors in it, but she quickly remembered something that her father had taught her. Some people had two doors for the same memory. One door led to what the person either saw or believed they saw, while the other led to what truly happened. "This ought to be good." She entered the door to her right, and was the witness to Sasuke's proposal to Sakura.

"Sakura, will you marry me?" Sakura, of course, squealed like a pig at his question. "Yes, Sasuke-kun, of course I will marry you."

Ino automatically smelled a rat, and wasted no time in heading straight to the second door, where she found a much different situation. "Oi, Sakura, I need you to be my wife, and help me to revive my clan."

Ino just had to laugh at how completely idiotic her former friend was. She was so caught up in her infatuation with the last Uchiha that she was actually interpreting his completely emotionless phrases as actual things one would say if he really meant them to be loving and caring, which was only proven by her venture into her other memories of Sasuke. Ino couldn't believe what she had seen inside of her mind and wanted to leave as fast as she could so she could tell Naruto about it, but stopped herself just before she completely disengaged the jutsu. She was still inside of Sakura's mind, so why not have a little more fun?

-The Real World, Sasuke and Sakura's Table-

"So for our wedding, I was thinking maybe we could have it at our old meeting place back when we were Genin. You know, the bridge that went to the training grounds." Sakura spoke excitedly to Sasuke, who appeared to be paying absolutely no attention to her.

"Yeah, sure, whatever you want." Sasuke placed another bit of food into his mouth.

"I was also going to ask Tenten if she would be my Maid of Honor, since I doubt that Hinata's family would allow her to attend a regular old wedding like ours. You have anyone you want to be your Best Man?"

Sasuke looked away, clearly uninterested in the direction the conversation had gone. "I don't care really. Kakashi , I think." In all seriousness, he had considered his options for this position. Neither Shikamaru, Choji, nor Kiba would be willing after what he put them through during his defection. Neji wouldn't be allowed, Lee wouldn't be an appropriate choice, ands Shino simply wouldn't. That left Naruto and Kakashi. The choice was obvious.

" Ok, then what about…." Before she could finish her thought, she went silent for ha few seconds, her head hanging a little. This actually caused Sasuke to look at her, since silence from her was just as rare as it was from Naruto. "Hey, you ok?"

Sakura looked back up and spoke in a voice that was loud enough for Naruto to hear. "Sasuke-kun, I'm so sorry. I haven't been fulfilling the duties that you have asked of me."

Sasuke, Naruto, and just about everyone within hearing distance turned towards the pink haired kunoichi. "What are you talking about, Sakura?"

"Helping you to revive your clan. I haven't been providing for you the way that I should have, but don't worry. I plan on making up for that right now." As she spoke, she began to slowly unzip her top, until her entire chest and stomach were visible. To all present.

Sasuke now looked annoyed. "Oi, what is the matter with you? What the Hell has gotten into you?"

"I know what I want to get inside of me." She then began to remove her bottoms. Before too long, she was standing in her bra and panties, while the entire restaurant was starring at her, the females in disgust, the males in awe, and the perverts not staring at all, as they were currently laid out on the ground, suffering from extreme blood loss from the nose.

Sakura then began crawling her way on to the table, staring straight into the eyes of the last Uchiha. "So, would you like to continue with your most important mission now, Sasuke-kuuuuuuun?" She reached behind her back and started to unhook her bra.

Sasuke was now getting angry. "Damnit Sakura, get a hold of yourself."

At that very moment, something appeared to happen within Sakura. She started blinking rapidly, and looked around for a while. "Sasuke-kun, why are you yelling at me? Why am I on the table? And…" She finally got a good hold of the entire situation. "WHY IN THE HELL AM I HALF NAKED?"

She had barely gotten the entire sentence out of her mouth when a tall, pale skinned woman walked up to her. On her blouse was a tag that read 'manager'. "Miss, I must ask that you leave my restaurant and never come back."

Sakura looked up at her with an incredulous look on her face."No, you got it all wrong. I didn't do this. I wasn't doing this myself."

It was then that she heard it. It was faint, but she could swear that she could hear the sound of stifled laughter coming from a few meters behind her. She turned around, and the sight caused inner Sakura to damn near explode.

-Ino and Naruto's Table-

Neither of them could contain the laughter that had overtaken them.

Naruto had begun to get somewhat worried when Sakura started acting the way she did. It wasn't until he noticed that the purple clad kunoichi, who was still concealed by the genjutsu he had cast, had not returned to her body that he finally understood. His partner was just having a little bit of fun while she had the chance. When she finally did return, she immediately went into what she had found inside of her head, which only caused the fits of laughter to increase tenfold.

A few minutes after she got back, he felt a familiar ominous air surround him, and he immediately recognized the source. He turned back to see the girl in question storming her way towards their table, clothes in hand. "Oi, Ino-pig, what in the hell are you trying to pull here? Thanks to you and your childish pranks, I just got banned from this restaurant!" It was pretty clear that Sakura was not a happy woman right now.

"Oh, you know, just thought I'd have a little fun. Besides, it was all Naruto's idea." Naruto looked up at Sakura, his devilish grin present. "I figured it would do you some good if you were more open, more liberal about your relationship with Sasuke."

Sakura looked like she was about to snap, and reared her fist back to give Naruto his usual punishment. This time, however, she put as much chakra as she could into this punch. Fortunately for Naruto, the fist would never meet his head, as Ino reached over and grabbed Sakura's wrist to stop her. "Now, now, forehead, you won't be hitting Naruto anymore. Besides, don't you want to try and hit me more?"

Sakura turned her death glare to Ino. "You saying you want to try me, Ino?"

"No, I'm saying if you've got the backbone for it, meet me at your old training area, the one where you passed Kakashi-sensei's test, in 30 minutes so that I can see just how much I can slap you around this time around." Ino stood up and headed for the front door. "Oh, and make sure you wear clothes."

-Training Ground-

Yamanaka Ino and Haruno Sakura. The last and only time these two had been on opposite ends of a battle ground was their lengthy fight during the preliminary matches of the Chuunin exams, and although they had both let it go as a draw, secretly Ino knew that they both wanted to settle the score once and for all. Now was their chance to finally prove who the better kunoichi was. The pink haired Sannin apprentice or the Anbu Torture and Interrogation prodigy.

On either side of the training ground, Uzumaki Naruto and Uchiha Sasuke stood by to watch the fireworks blaze.

Ino took her taijutsu stance and quickly ran through the battle stats in her mind. 'Ok, she doesn't really have any specialty jutsu's other that the Godaime's freakish strength thing and healing, so I can expect her to try to fight me up close for most of the match. I am faster than she is so I can keep up with her attacks easily. All I have to do is wait for an opening. And a little more provocation never hurt.' She allowed a small smile to creep its way across her face. "Bring it on, billboard brow."

Sakura, already pretty pissed about what Ino did to her, took the bait hook, line, and sinker. She started with a series of wild punches. No real technique behind them, just wanting to take Ino's head off. Ino dodged each and every punch easily, almost as if she wasn't really even trying to dodge them. The fact that she never let the smile that was on her face drop definitely helped Sakura's rage induced blows along nicely.

After a while of back stepping and dodging, she figured that it was time for her to go on the offensive now. She allowed herself to be still long enough for Sakura to lock on a punch to her face. Once Sakura had thrown said punch, she waited until the last second to fall completely backwards. Sakura had completely telegraphed her punch as she was sure that she was going to connect with that punch, and stumbled forward, while Ino used the momentum of her 'fall', planted her hands on the ground, and brought her right foot straight up into Sakura's chin, actually causing her to pop off of the ground a few centimeters. Ino, still upside down on her hands, cocked both of her legs back, and drove them straight into Sakura's abdomen, launching her backwards. Ino flipped back onto her feet, while Sakura would eventually skid to a stop after sliding along the ground for a few seconds.

Ino stood, staring at her opponent with a confident smile on her face. "Is that all you can do?"

Sakura got back to her feet, now extremely pissed off. She ran straight for Ino, forming a few seals as she did so. Seconds later, two other Sakura's appeared next to her, all mirroring her movements. 'She can't keep up with me if she doesn't know where I am.'

If it were possible, the smile on Ino's face would have gotten even cockier than it had been. "Think again, billboard brow." As all three Sakuras chakra jumped towards Ino, she simply ducked out of the way of one of them, and then came back up with an uppercut that connected with the real Sakura. She then grabbed her leg and threw her clear across the grounds once again.

Sakura looked back up at Ino confused. "How did you know which one was me?"

Ino brought a hand up to point at her head. "The mind is a powerful tool, especially in the hands on a Yamanaka. I mind tagged you before the match started, and as long as I keep that connection up, no matter how many of you there are, I will always know which one is the real you."

Sakura got back to her feet and brushed herself off a little. 'Ok, so old tricks aren't going to work anymore. She is way faster than I am, so I can't outmaneuver her." She sighed. "Looks like I'm going to have to resort to the unorthodox." She charged up a punch and drove it straight into the ground.

Ino knew that she had learned the Hokage's special taijutsu way, but it still amazed her just how far she had progressed with it. Nearly the entire training ground had become nothing more than a heap of broken earth. Ino had to steady herself on the now completely uneven ground, and just barely caught sight of a blur of red heading her way. 'Not bad, forehead.' Ino jumped to the right towards a fairly decent looking piece of earth to avoid Sakura's blow. 'But still not good enough.'

Right before she landed, she could have sworn that she saw a small smile come across Sakura's face. It wasn't until she actually did land did she understand why, because the moment she put a little weight on the piece of earth she had jumped to, it crumbled right underneath her feet. Sakura had already jumped straight into her direction. Ino looked at her, a look that was about 2 steps under frustration on her face. Sakura had cornered her, and was moving in for the kill. Fortunately for Ino, no matter what the situation an Anbu member was never completely defenseless. Once again waiting until the very last minute, she flipped her body completely backwards, watching Sakura's gloved fist pass right over her face, brought her legs up, and wrapped them around Sakura's neck. At this point, her Anbu instincts should have kicked in, but she used each and every ounce of will power she had to suppress the urge to simply snap the girls neck in to two or more pieces. Instead, she simply finished her flip bringing Sakura with her, and used her legs to throw her to the ground.(If you have ever seen professional wrestling, or sports entertainment as it is called now, and have seen someone do a Hurricanrana or Frankensteiner, then that is what Ino has just done.)

Sakura landed hard on a nice flat space of ground while Ino did a little bit of hopping to get to the edge of the destroyed area. 'Ok, I'll admit it. That was a pretty close call.' She got back into her taijutsu stance and waited for Sakura to come again, the smile gone from her face. Sakura had finally gotten back up, though she was rubbing her back tenderly. A faint green light appeared around her hand while she was rubbing that spot, and seconds later, she was ready to fight again.

Ino, however, had since predicted the outcome of this battle, and let it be known to her. "It's over, forehead. Just admit it. You have wasted a whole lot of chakra just trying to lay a hand on me, while I haven't even used any chakra this whole match. You can't beat me, Sakura."

Naruto, who had jumped back just a little bit when Sakura unleashed her earth shattering punch, had been cheering Ino on the whole way, though he wasn't as verbal as one would have thought he would be. He had to smile at just how much she had improved over his time with her. She was faster, a little smarter, and had picked up his habit of using attacks from odd and unusual angles. 'She gets any better and she just might kick my ass one day.'

Sasuke, of course, was watching the whole match with little interest in the outcome.

Sakura looked her rival in the eye. "Don't count eggs before they hatch, Ino. I still have one more surprise left up my sleeves. And I doubt that you are going to escape from this." She rushed Ino once again. Ino simply sighed and moved to the side, waiting for another opening to present itself. However, she would be in for a surprise when instead of going for a punch, Sakura went through a series of seals that Ino could have sworn she had seen before. Sakura let a small smile appear on her face before unleashing her attack.

"Katon: Gokakyu no Jutsu!"

Ino's eyes went completely wide as Sakura formed the circle with her thumb and index finger around her lips, but recovered a second later. There would be time for wondering later. Sakura let the flame loose, engulfing Ino's complete figure inside of the fireball. She let the flames blow for a few second before stopping them, only to find that where Ino's burnt figure would have been, there was a burnt log instead. "Just barely escaped huh? That's ok, you can't keep running forever."

Ino had taken refuge inside of the treetops, batting out a piece of her skirt that hadn't escaped the flames in time. "What the hell? She actually got that head case to teach her _that_?" Normally she was a think first, act later kind of person. However, her partner's philosophy was exactly the opposite of that, and she was starting to feel glad that it had rubbed off on her a little. She acted first, using Substitution Jutsu to get out of there in the nick of time, and now she was thinking. And a very interesting thought came to her mind. "Even with her excellent chakra control, that attack still consumes a lot of chakra. Given the amount of chakra she has used so far and her chakra capacity, I'd give her one more before she starts to feel it, and one more after that before she has to stop using it so that she will still be able to fight. In that case…." She went through a few seals. "Bunshin no Jutsu." One other Ino poofed into existence and jumped out of the trees to Sakura. "Here I come, forehead!"

Ino turned towards the flying Ino and let loose a second fireball, which caused the Bunshin to poof out of existence. 'Crap, she made me waste a fireball.' Sakura looked around, her breathing starting to get a little heavy.

Ino laughed silently to herself. "Good, now to really through her off." She went through a few more seals, and stopped at the last one. "I just hope I don't get too drained to finish the fight." She took a deep breath and, "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu." One more Ino appeared just as the last one had and also jumped out of the trees towards Sakura. Sakura caught her out of the corner of her eye. "Another Bunshin?" She turned and let loose another of her punches, which was easily dodged when Ino spun out of the way, then lashed out a kick to her side.

Sakura took a few steps backwards. "Nope, that's the real one. In that case…" Just as Ino lunged at her once again, just as she was as close as Sakura could allow, Sakura let loose her third fireball. "Got you, Ino."

Sakura's own smile faded when she saw the faint smile on the face of Ino. "Don't think you're the only one that learned a new trick." And in a poof of smoke, Ino was gone.

"What????" Sakura stopped the fireball, her breath now out coming out hard and fast. "K-Kage Bunshin?"

"That's right, forehead." The real Ino's voice came from directly behind her. She turned just in time to see Ino plant her hands on the ground, cock both of her legs as far back as she could, and drive them both into her chin, launching her into the sky. Ino used the momentum of her kick to flip back on to her feet, and without skipping a beat, jumped up in a similar arc to Sakura.

"And now to end it." She flipped her body until her ankles were wrapped around her neck. As they began their decent, she pulled Sakura over with her legs, and for a split second, she almost forgot that she was fighting Sakura, and was about to simply plant her on the top of her head, but was able to rotate her just enough so that when she hit the ground, she hit face first.

"Yamanaka Ino Assassination Technique; Flower Planter. Non lethal version." The end result of the move was Ino standing on her feet; her ankles on either side of Sakura's neck, and Sakura face down on the ground. Ino started to walk away from the battle ground, but was stopped, surprisingly by the voice of her rival."Why?" Sakura barely got her bloody face to turn upwards to look at Ino. "Why did you challenge me to this fight?"

Ino stopped, but did not turn to face her. "Aside from your completely baseless infatuation with Sasuke, I found that you were another reason for Naruto's depression. And I will tell you like I told him." She finally turned half of her face towards her. "If you ever do anything like that to him again and I find out about it, then what I have just done to you will be a walk in the park compared to what I will do to you." She started walking again.

"You speak as if you two are a couple." This came, surprisingly, from the last of the Uchiha's.

Ino continued walking as she spoke. "We are not a couple." She stopped and paused for a while before turning towards Naruto and smiling. "But one day, who knows?" She continue walking, taking Naruto's arm with her.

"You know, you didn't have to do that. I had already let everything that she did go when we did our prank on her and Sasuke." Naruto looked back towards Sasuke and Sakura, though not out of concern for Sakura.

"I know, but I hadn't. And we needed a little closure from our tie during the Chuunin exams. Besides, I needed to work off all of the ramen you've made me eat."

Naruto smiled at that. "Hey, were you serious when you said that we probably had a chance together?"

Ino looked up at the night sky. It was a moonless night. "Yes. Every word."

Naruto smiled at that. Then allowed a small, microscopic frown to cross his face. 'Damnit. Now I have to tell Gaara that he was right again.'

-End-

That took a lot of work.

Believe it or not, I was actually contemplating whether or not I wanted to put the fight off and give it its own chapter. I decided against it, and I pray that I don't regret it.

R&R&have a nice day.


	8. Crime and Punishment

-Chapter 8 Crime and Punishment-

Yamanaka Ino had been in her fair share of ninja fights since joining the Anbu. Most of them were for missions, yes, but a good number of them had been with ninja's from her own village, mainly female Jounins who believed that Ino was all talk and no action. And if there was one thing that she had taken from any of those fights, it was that even if no one was there to actually see the fight, everyone that either one of the fighters knew would know about it. And considering who her opponent was last night, it didn't surprise her that she was standing in the Hokage's office next to a very rough looking Sakura in front of the Godaime Hokage.

Ino had just sat down at Ichiraku's for breakfast, which she would mentally scold herself for, when she sense the presence of someone other than Naruto behind her. She turned to find herself face to mangled face with Haruno Sakura, and had to try not to laugh. "The Hokage wants to see you."

Ino's face went serious for a while, and although her face may have been damaged, it was obvious that Sakura was happy about her latest announcement. "You told her didn't you?"

Sakura sighed. "If I didn't, she was going to do to my body what you did to my face."

And so here they were, side by side, waiting for the Hokage to acknowledge either one of them. Tsunade looked from one to the other multiple times before she spoke her first words. "Haruno Sakura, I wish to talk with Ino alone for a while, if you don't mind."

"Not at all, Tsunade-sama." There was a hint of glee in that last statement that would have caused Ino to puke if she wasn't a ninja. Sakura turned and said as she took her first step, "Good luck, Ino-pig." 

The door closed behind Ino, and she turned her eyes towards those of the Hokage, who kept her iron gaze on Ino. "I will not ask you why you felt the need to turn my apprentice's face into what it is now. Instead I will tell you to do so." She leaned back in her chair, obviously making herself comfortable. "Talk."

Ino restrained herself from sighing. Usually she wouldn't have done so, but she could sense that the Hokage was somewhat angry with her, and it would be best not to extend upon that. "It was a mix of things. I am sure you have heard about our fight during the Chuunin exams."

Tsunade nodded her head. "It ended in a double knockout. I remember hearing that after the fight, you two had seemingly threw aside any and all quarrels you had at that time, the main one being you infatuation with Sasuke, though it would seem that Sakura never really did."

"Yeah well, I deemed him as a lost cause a little bit after that. Anyway, one of the reasons for that fight was because deep down, neither of us could bring ourselves to let that go. We needed to make it official that either she or I was the better fighter."

Tsunade nodded. "But why now? You had 8 years to clear that up and you decided that last night was the best time to do so?"

"Yeah, that is where the other circumstances come in. I had a lot of steam to blow off thanks to her."

"Oh, really? And just what did she do to you?"

"It wasn't what she did to me. It is what she did to my partner."

Tsunade's eyebrows did a microscopic lift at that. "Naruto? I don't suppose this has anything to do with her engagement to Sasuke?"

"Among other things. That was just the final straw." Ino took a deep breath, completely ready to spill whatever she had to say. "You wouldn't have noticed it, but for a good while now, Naruto had been really depressed about something. The whole Sakura thing was just what made it visible to me. It finally came to a head the day of the festival, when Sakura became engaged to Sasuke. I found Naruto sulking on the Hokage monument and was able to get him to brighten up enough to go to the festival. While we were there, we ran into Sakura and Sasuke. She and I started arguing again, and she said something particularly nasty about Naruto while he was standing right next to her. I won't repeat it, so don't ask me to. For a while Naruto seemed devastated, but then he became somewhat happy. It was because He had finally been set free of his infatuation for Sakura." She stopped herself at that for two reasons. One; she was beginning to get a little off subject. Two; if she continued to rant anymore she would give herself and Naruto away, as Tsunade was still completely oblivious towards their prank against Sasuke and Sakura. "I'm sorry, Tsunade-sama, I kinda let my mouth take over for me."

"It's alright, Ino. I'm actually a little glad that you started ranting like that. Means that you really do care for him. Now continue with your explanation."

"Well, last night we all somehow ended up at the Oasis together. Both Naruto and I were still curious as to what she saw in Sasuke, what could possibly motivate her to marry someone who turned his back on our village. So he cast a genjutsu on my body so that it looked like I was awake still, and I used Shintenshin no Jutsu on Sakura. I found, aside from what I had actually went there for, an entire section reserved for Naruto alone. And it was basically all of the times her had done something for her and she refused him, saying that he was annoying her. Even when he saved her life, she never gave him anything resembling thanks. It didn't seem right to me." 

"So you publicly embarrassed her, and then secretly humiliated her. All because of things that she did to Naruto. Things that, from what I can tell, he has decided to put behind him" Tsunade closed her eyes. 

"Yes, Tsunade-sama. She was one of the things caused him to feel depressed, which in turn caused our mission performance to suffer."

Tsunade looked back up at her. "One of the reasons?"

Ino looked away from her for a second. She suddenly found it impossible to look the Hokage in the eyes, probably out of fear of what she was going to do when she dropped this on her. "I know about it Tsunade-sama. I know what really happened 20 years ago when the Kyuubi attacked."

Ino waited and waited for whatever was to come, but when nothing happened, she turned back to the Hokage, only to find that there was a slight furrowing of her brow, an even slighter clenching of her fists, and a little tensing of her muscles. "Who told you?"

Ino spoke in a low voice, suddenly getting a feeling of déjà-vu. "Naruto told me what happened, but that wasn't how I found out about it."

The Hokage sat back in her chair, and Ino didn't even need to wonder what she was waiting for. "A little while ago, Naruto was telling me about the Chuunin exams that we were in. He told me about the fight that he had with the Kazekage and how even after that, they became friends. Of course, I couldn't believe that, and when I asked him how that was possible, he told me that they were more alike than most people really knew. That was what got me interested. I also noticed that when I asked about certain topics, like how he was able to beat Neji, or how he was able to use Kage Bunshin as much as he did, he would become vague and try to change the subject, or if he wasn't in a good mood, tell me to drop it completely. I started to ask around for info, but no one could tell me anything. Finally reaching the end of my rope, I decided to use Shintenshin no Jutsu on him.

"You would have to see it for yourself to believe it. Not even in the most sick, twisted, demented minds that I have jumped into have I ever seen anything like what I saw in his mind. It was depressing just being in there. Let's not even get started on the memories that I found there. Not a single one was a good one. I thought I was going to go crazy in there."

Tsunade nodded her head once Ino finished speaking. "I see. Yamanaka Ino, listen well. You shouldn't have found out what you did the way that you did. As a ninja of Konoha, I would have expected you to respect your partner's privacy a little better than you did. However, I will let that part slide this time. You were simply looking to help him. And, from what I have heard, you seemed to have taken a somewhat violent reaction towards the way Naruto has been treated, and while I commend you for realizing your own mistake and fault in his treatment, I will ask that you please not go around beating each and every person that has contributed to that."

"Yes, Hokage-sama." Ino almost released a sigh of relief. She was sure that the Hokage wouldn't let her off that easily.

"Nevertheless, even if it was in the defense of his feelings, you still provoked a fight with another Konoha ninja, and as you are well aware fighting amongst allies is strictly forbidden outside the exams. Therefore, I shall suspend you Anbu status for one month. You will still be able to go out on C and B class missions, and I will allow you to do them on your own if you wish."

In the back of her mind, Ino cringed at the Hokage's words. The Hokage was fully aware of how much she truly enjoyed doing assassination missions, so the fact that she was allowing Ino to go out on regular mission was a huge blow to the woman. 'Bad enough I can't just go out and kill everyone in sight. It would have been better if I had been confined to the village' However, when she thought about the commitment she had already made prior to this meeting a small, almost nonexistent smile appeared on her face. 'Then again, this just means that I won't have to excuse myself if an important mission comes up.' She nodded her head to the Hokage.

"OK then, now to personal indulgence. Sakura was terribly vague with her description of last night's events, so if you don't mind, and I'm sure you won't, tell me just what you did to Sakura that caused her to not only completely blow her top, but get permanently evicted from a restaurant that had just opened that very day?"

Ino couldn't have stopped the smile on her face if she wanted to. "Before I left her body I decided to have a little bit of fun, so I took control and made her strip. Almost got her bra off before I decided to let it be."

Tsunade shook her head from side to side. "Remind me to stay off of you Yamanakas' bad sides. Last thing I need is for one of you to find some of the skeletons in my closet. And the fight. From what I can tell, she never even got a decent hit on you."

"Of course. I am way faster than she is, and considering that we were basically only fighting hand to hand, that meant that she wouldn't have hit me unless I wanted her. The fact that she was fighting while she was pissed off didn't hurt either. Though she did decide to inherit a couple of things from her former teammates. Naruto's knack for coming up with on the fly strategies, which on paper look like a 2 year old thought of it, but when executed work to perfection, and Sasuke's Gokakyu no Jutsu."

Tsunade's eyes perked up at that. "She actually tried to use that. No wonder she lost. She probably blew out all of her chakra trying to hit you with that."

"Exactly. She almost caught me off guard the first time she tried it, but once I knew she could do it, the rest was cake."

It was at that time that they heard a knock on the door. "Tsunade-sama." Shizune's voice could be heard from the other side of the door. 

"What is it, Shizune?"

Shizune opened the door and walked in. "I apologize for interrupting, but the Jounins are hear and ready for the meeting."

Tsunade nodded and stood. "Thank you for coming, Ino. Your story has been truly enlightening."

"You are welcome, Tsunade-sama. Ja ne" And with that Ino teleported out of the office.

-Konoha Training Ground-

Naruto remembered his fight with Gaara back during the Chuunin exams, and the thing that stood out the most to him about that fight at this very moment was the simple fact that Gaara didn't even have anything against Naruto at that time. He was just looking for someone strong to fight and kill. At first, Naruto was kinda put off that Gaara had only seen him as a strong Konoha nin and not Uzumaki Naruto. But after the thrashing that he had received during their "training" session this afternoon, Naruto was supremely glad that Gaara didn't have any personal animosity towards him back then, because when Gaara was actually mad at you for something you did, mercy was completely thrown out of the window. Because This Gaara wasn't looking to kill, No, he was looking to torture.

Before he had met up with Naruto that day, Gaara had come to Konoha to see how his restaurant's first day went. When the manager told him about what had happened, Gaara immediately smelled a rat, one that smelled like ramen. He set out to find the blonde haired ninja, and wasted little time getting right down to business. "My manager has told me some rather interesting things about the Oasis' Grand Opening. Would you care to explain?"

Gaara sat quietly while Naruto explain the details of his and Ino's latest prank of Sakura, and before Naruto was even fully done, Gaara had captured him in his Sabaku Kyuu, once again faster that the eye could see. "Listen, I don't really care whether or not you play sick pranks on the entire population of Konoha, Suna, Iwa, Oto, Mizu, or any other hidden village. Just do it on your own time. My manager is actually threatening to up and leave this village because of you and your girlfriend's actions. I was just barely able to calm her down enough to stay and I promised her that the one responsible for this would come to her by the end of the day with an apology. And guess who that somebody is going to be?"

Naruto just had to push another button, just to see just how serious Gaara really was. "Ino? I mean, she was the one that performed the jutsu."

Gaara was clearly not amused. "You think that I am kidding about this? Fine, then let me show you just how angry I am." He dispelled his sands, though he left enough up to wrap around Naruto's crotch area. "Tell me Naruto, which one do you want to keep? Your left one or your right?" He made a slight flick of his hand, and the pressure began to build up where the sands were.

Naruto, of course, recognized a dangerous situation when he saw one and quickly aimed to please. "Oh God, no Garra! Please, anything but that. At least wait until I lose my virginity." Naruto immediately covered his mouth, but he had already supplied Gaara with more than enough ammunition. He had to face the truth. Gaara now owned him.

"Is that so Naruto? Maybe I should leave the onigiri (rice ball, not to be confused with Zoro's Oni Giri [demon slash from One Piece) alone and go straight for the sausage."

"Noooooooo! Please, I'll do anything, Gaara. Anything!"

"Glad to hear it. Then the first chance that you get, you will walk into the Oasis, ask for the manager, and apologize to her for your actions. I have already told her to expect someone to come, so all you should have to do is ask someone that works there where she is."

Naruto heaved the biggest sigh of relief ever. "Thanks, Gaara. For a moment there I was actually getting worried……." His voice trailed off when he saw the look on Gaara's face. At first, he thought it was that same cocky smile that Gaara usually had. Then Naruto noticed that both corners of his mouth were raised. "Uh, Gaara? What are you smiling at?"

"You didn't really think that the apology was going to make up for everything, did you? Now, we are going to get started with the training session. We will be doing the exact same thing we have been doing, the endurance exercise. Only this time, instead of dodging, you will have to stand there and take my attacks as they come."

"WHAAAAAAAAT? You can't be serious."

Gaara sighed. "You're right, I'm not. I suppose I can always tell one of your friends your little secret. And I think I know just the one. Oh, what was his name again? I… Inuz…."

Naruto started jumping around like a monkey on speed. "No! Ok, whatever you want. I'll do it, just please don't tell Kiba. Please!" Naruto knew that Kiba had already had his first share of action, recently finding out that Kiba and Tenten had been dating since a little bit after Naruto returned with Sasuke. At first, he thought it was nothing serious, and that the two of them would probably break it off long before anything really intimate happened. So you can imagine Naruto's surprise when Kiba came to him a few weeks ago and told him about his first delve into human biology 101. Naruto, of course, just had to come up with a suitable lie so that Kiba wouldn't kid him about getting some first, and came up with a rather believable tale about how he had to do one of his target's handmaidens in order to keep her silent about his assassination. If Kiba found out that Naruto had not only lied, but was still a virgin, Naruto would probably have to isolate himself once again just to escape the endless amounts of taunts that would inevitably come his way.

Gaara looked back up at Naruto and smiled. "Very well. Then let's begin."

By the end of the training session Naruto was sprawled out on the ground, every single muscle of his body sore to the bone. Never in his entire life had Naruto ever been as beaten down as he was today. And the worse part about it was that he fully deserved each and every minute of it. "Oh man, that sucked."

Gaara brushed his shoulder off rather nonchalantly. "What are you talking about? That is probably the most fun I have ever had."He walked over to Naruto and stood directly over his head. "In fact, I enjoyed it so much that I decided that we are going to do this once a day, every day for a month."

Naruto's eyes, which were already slightly bulging at Gaara's admission that he thought today's activities were fun, looked like they were about pop right out of their sockets. "You can't be serious. Besides I can't do it every day. I already volunteered to pull security for the upcoming Chuunin exams, so I won't be able to make the trip from Konoha to Suna."

Even as the words left his mouth, Naruto noticed the small smile that formed on the Kazekage's face. "Oh, I suppose I didn't tell you. I am going to be staying in Konoha for the Chuunin exams. I decided that the best way to connect with the people of an allied village was directly, to make myself visible to them. And since most every village will be present in some way, shape, or form, this would be the best time to try this out."

Naruto looked up at Gaara in absolute fear. Not because Gaara had actually thought up an excuse to stay in Konoha for the month that he promised, but because his reason actually made sense to him. "You know that mixed business with pleasure always leads to disaster."

"Yes, but I am sure that disaster will only strike for one blonde hair, blue eyed, loud mouthed ninja. And I suppose we can start out early so that we don't interfere with your schedule." Gaara then let loose the most wicked smile that Naruto had ever seen him use."I'll see ya bright an early tomorrow morning, Uzumaki Naruto." And with that, Gaara sand teleported away,

Naruto rested his head on the ground and closed his eyes. "I hope Choji got back. I need to see if I can get a couple hundred food pills off of him."

"What could you possibly need a couple hundred food pills for?" Naruto opened his eyes back up, and found that he was face to face with Yamanaka Inoria.

"Oh, hey there, Inoria. Don't worry about it. You probably wouldn't believe me."

"Does this have anything to do with the Kazekage?" Inoria laughed at the face Naruto made when she mentioned Gaara. "Ino-onee-san told me about your little adventure to Suna, and the fact that your clothes are all covered in sand makes it pretty obvious which ninja just ran all over you."

Naruto giggled slightly. "Well, when you put it that way…… Hey, what you doing all the way out here anyway?"

Inoria stood back up. "I need some advice for the Chuunin exams. Shika-baka and Ino-onee-san have already given me all of the technical and strategic advice that I need, but from what I hear, you were one of the only ninjas everyone remembered being the center of attention from start to finish. So I just want you to give me a few tips on what to do so that I can do the same."

In the back of his mind, Naruto just had to be proud of himself. 'Finally, my exploits have been appreciated by someone.' "Ok I guess I can give you a few pointers. Take a seat."

Inoria leaned her back against a tree trunk and sat down, waiting on Naruto's instruction.

"Ok then, the first, and most importantly; the first impression is most important. When I first entered the examination room, I yelled out at the top of my lungs that I was gonna kick each and every ninja's ass. And I meant each and every word of it. Not only do you have to make a big impression on every one there, but you have to mean whatever you say. Don't just walk up to someone, tell them you are going to beat them, and not have the will to back up your words. That only get's you remembered as the biggest chump of the exam." He wasn't sure as he was still laid out on the ground, but he could have sworn that he saw Inoria with a pad and pencil in her hand. 

"Secondly, question authority. If there is something, no matter how small, that you think should be changed, raise your hand. Or better yet, raise your voice. Then they have no choice but to pay attention to you. Now, I'm not telling you to go crazy with it. After all, too much and you could possibly get kicked straight out of the exams." He quieted down just enough to hear the faint sounds of lead scribbling onto paper. 'So she does have one.' "Have you been hanging around Lee?"

"So you noticed?" Inoria smiled slightly and finished the rest of her current line of notes. "Ok, make a good first impression and question authority. Anything else?"

"Yeah, one more thing. Be as loud, annoying, and rebellious as you want, but make sure you kick major ass when you do. If you are loud and annoying all the time, then people won't expect too much from you. However, once you win a match that statistically you have no chance of winning, then you have completely caught the attention of everyone present. Look at me. I was the class dropout, bottom of the barrel. Some say I was lucky to have even made it as far as the prelims. And not only did I beat Kiba in the prelims, but I even went on to beat Neji in the main matches."

"Wow, that's so cool. Though considering that I am already the number one rookie of my class, then there won't be too many other ninjas above me." Inoria looked away from Naruto, seemingly lost in thought.

"That's more power to you. Means that you will already have eyes on you. And if they see Konoha's number one rookie acting like that and kick major ass, then that will only put more eyes on you. It's a win-win for you."

Inoria's face lit up like a Christmas tree. "Hot damn, you're right." She ran over to where Naruto was lying and gave him as good a hug as she could give him. "Thanks, Naruto-nii-san. I'll go ahead and start practicing for the exams right now." She stood back up and darted off towards the village.

Once again, Naruto was left alone in the woods, waiting until he could regain enough movement in his limbs to make his way back to his apartment.

It was about an hour later, when he was finally back on his feet and steadily walking out of the woods, that he noticed Ino walking through the woods s well. She must have noticed him as well, because she had already changed her direction and was walking straight for him. Almost as soon as they were within talking distance, they both said at the same time, "You'll never believe what happened to me today."

They both then proceeded to tell each other about their respective days.

-5:45am Naruto's apartment-

Naruto slept like a rock. A rock that could snore like there was no tomorrow. His body had been trained to be able to wake up at a certain time of day, so even if the apartment started coming down on top of him, the most he would probably do was change his sleeping position. So it should come as no surprise that he slept well through his body floating out of the window of his apartment.

He began to take notice of how cold it was starting to get and tried to pull the covers over him a little tighter, only to find that there were no covers. He immediately went on the alert, jumped up, a kunai in both hands, and looked around. He was shocked, to say the least, when he saw that he was looking at Konoha from outside his apartment. Better yet, from above his apartment. "What the hell is this? And what the hell am I standing on?"

He would receive an answer to both of his questions, though he would soon wish that he had never asked. "Uzumaki Naruto," Naruto's spine froze at the sound of the voice, and it all became clear. Getting a better feel of the substance that he was currently standing on, he realized that he was standing on…… "Sand." He turned around once again to face his executioner, playing the role of training partner. "It's time for my training."

-End-

Ok Chapter 8 done.

Next chapter; the start of the Chuunin exams. Can't wait to see how that goes

As always, R&R&have a nice day.


	9. Confession of an Obsession

-Chapter 9 Confession of an Obsession-

Usually, it would seem rather strange to see the sensei of a Genin team trailing lazily behind his or her team. As such, when many of the visiting teams saw the next generation Ino-Shika-Cho team walk up to the classroom, they were a little confused to see the blonde haired Kunoichi lead a couple of rather demotivated Genins and an even more demotivated Jonin. However, Inoria paid no attention to the stares that were being sent her team way. In fact, she was already taking Naruto's advice and embracing the attention that she was getting.

She silently wished that her companions would at least try to look interested in this. This was the Chuunin exams! Well over one hundred ninjas from hidden villages all across the five countries, each with varying styles and abilities, gathered together for the sole purpose of seeing just which of the lot was good enough to be promoted to Chuunin. This was their chance to show the entire ninja community just what they could do. She just hoped that there was some sort ultra special Genin among her peers for this exam. She remembered Ino speaking about how the final matches of the Genin exams she had been a part of had been hyped by the presence of one Uchiha Sasuke, hyped even more by the fact that he was competing in the first round against Sabaku no Gaara, then a simple Suna ninja who had a lot of hype going on around him. There were dignitaries, feudal lords, and all manner of high class civilians attending the exams just to see those two duke it out. If there was at least one name there that could attract their attention for her exam, she would be happy. Not only would she be able to show how great her clan can truly be, but she could make Chuunin in stylish fashion by beating someone with more hype than she could possibly have.

Her partners, however, didn't seem nearly as interested in the proceedings as she was. Shikaru looked about as bored as their sensei was, and Chogun was stuffing his face with his fourth bag of chips. Inoria knew that most people ate more whenever they were anxious or nervous about something, and Inoria had begun to think that the exams were at least affecting him in some way when he blazed through the first bag as if he were drinking a glass of water. However, it was not to be, as he simply wanted to kick start his eating ritual for the day.

Once they made it to the door Shikamaru actually stopped them to say a few words, an obvious change in his usually passive attitude. "Shikaru, I've taught you everything that I feel that you need to do well in this exam. Only bit of advice I can give you is simply this: Your mind, not your chakra, will be your greatest weapon during these exams, so use it wisely. Chogun, no matter what anyone says, your weight is indeed your weapon. Throw it around like a rag doll and I'm sure you won't have any problems." He turned his attention to Inoria, sighed, and tried to look like an actual Jonin for a few seconds. "Inoria, your position is somewhat unorthodox, as you will be the one that carries this team towards its eventual success. You have the abilities, skill, and knowledge to make Chuunin. There is no doubt in my mind about that." He addressed his closing statement to all of them. "Just remember that no matter how good you may be individually, none of you can make Chuunin if you don't work as a team, and there is no doubt in my mind that, even though you are a rookie team, you can all make it to the finals, and even become Chuunin."

Shikamaru just had to be somewhat amazed at himself. When he first found out he was getting this team, he wasn't sure if he was even capable of making a speech like this to them, and even less sure if any of them would have listened to a word he said. Now, Shikaru was standing up straight with his eyes open and focused on Shikamaru, Chogun had actually stopped eating, even putting away his bag, and almost as if all of the planets were aligned at this very moment in time, Inoria was silently listening to every word he was saying. Once he finished they all let out a "Hai!"

"Very well, then. Go on in." Shikamaru watched as his team, led by the loudest, most annoying, most troublesome, most reliable leader he had ever crossed paths with, opened the doors and walked in to the classroom.

-Classroom-

When Shikamaru told his team that they were going to be the only rookie team amongst hordes upon hordes of "Chuunin Veterans," ninja teams that have attempted to make the ascension to Chuunin before, some more times than others, Inoria immediately thought, "Hey, that's pretty cool. That means no one will be expecting any of us to win, which means that they will be in for the biggest surprise of their life when we do." When Yamanaka Inoria walked into the classroom and was met with the glares of all of the older ninjas, and a few evil smiles from those who thought they were going to be easy prey, she realized just what being the only rookie team meant. Saying that you were the youngest team in a Chuunin exam is like walking in front of a line of ninjas carrying senbon needles, kunais, shurikens, and any other throwing weapon you could think of, and yelling at the top of your lungs, "I'm right here. Just try and hit me." The moment they walked through that door, a bull's eye the size of Fire Country was painted on them. 'Now I know why Shika-baka told us to stick together. We'll be lucky to survive long enough to make it to the finals.'

"Ehhh, what's the matter Inoria? You've been talking all week about how you were going to make the big impression here, and now you're speechless." Shikaru spoke lazily from her right side after taking note of her prolonged silence. "Though I suppose that even the 'Number 1 rookie, the first Yamanaka prodigy in over 5 decades' gets nervous when she is finally faced with the odds."

The Yamanaka females were well known for their explosive, hair trigger tempers, so Inoria was at first surprised that her partner was deliberately provoking her. Then the hair trigger temper exploded. "WHAT THE HELL DID YOU JUST SAY? You really think that I am scared of all of these wimps?? Well let me tell you something right now; I'm going to kick each and every one to their asses, and by the time it's all over, I will be the one standing tall." She turned her attention, and her temper, to the rest of the room, which had obviously become somewhat interested in the extremely loud voice of whoever was producing it. "You all heard me right! If any of you think that you are getting past me, then you have another thing coming! I am going to take each and every one of you out, and if you have a problem with that, then by all means, step on up!"

Shikaru just had to laugh to himself. 'It worked a little better than I had wished. At least she has finally loosened up and is being herself again.' His laughter died when he saw the looks that they were getting. Some of the ninjas had obviously taken offense to what she had just said and were willing to do something about it. A few of them even decided to take her up on her offer and began to slowly make their way towards the group. Inoria had already settled into a fighting stance and was ready to take on each and every one of them if she needed to, and probably would have if the examiner for the first exam hadn't decided to make his appearance right then and there.

"That's enough of that for now. You'll get your chance to throw blows with each other soon enough. If you can get past my exam first." Inoria let her attention drift towards the cloud of smoke that took up the entire open side of the room. As it began to clear she saw an entire row of Jonins, and standing in the middle of the row was none other than……

"Welcome to the first exam of the Chuunin Examination. I am your first examiner, head of the Anbu Torture and Interrogation division, Morino Ibiki!"

-Rooftops-

Yamanaka Ino landed on top of a random household, and as quickly as she landed, bounded from it, continuing along her patrol route. Yes, it wasn't any of her A class or S class assassination missions, but given the alternatives, she would rather be doing this.

The Godaime's decision to suspend her Anbu status probably would have caused Ino to be somewhat bored if she hadn't already agreed to pull security for the Chuunin exams this year. Even if she hadn't been suspended, there was no way that she was going to miss her sister's first exam. Yes, she probably could have gone as a regular Konoha ninja, but as an Anbu she was duty bound to complete any and all missions given to her. Yes, the normal missions were held off in favor of the exams, but for the most parts, assassination mission were now or never missions. However, she made sure that she and Naruto were volunteered for security or the exams. Not only would Inoria want them both to be there to watch her in the main matches, but Ino would be damned if she allowed Naruto to go out and have all of the fun doing A class and S class missions while she was stuck in Konoha.

However, as much as she wanted to know about her sister's progress, she was here as the security cell first. Security in Konoha had somewhat diminished over the years leading up to the invasion attempt by Orochimaru, or at least that was what she was told by Ibiki-sensei during one of her many training sessions. While the Kyuubi attack may have been the cup of coffee they needed to wake up to that fact, just like a cup of coffee, it was not meant to last. Ibiki-sensei knew this, the Yondaime knew this, but the council continually declined their requests to up security in Konoha. Their reason being that, "We must uphold Konoha's peaceful image. If we have the Anbu cells patrolling every minute of every day, then how will the people interpret it?" Then the Kyuubi attacked, and the council still wouldn't allow for an increased security presence within Konoha. "The Kyuubi was an unfortunate accident. What are the chances that another tailed beast will attack?" Then the sound-sand invasion occurred, and still they would not budge, even after the number of casualties was addressed. "We may have taken a big blow, but so did the sound. They won't attack again."

It finally took the defection of the one and only Uchiha Sasuke coupled with Intel about a certain group of demon container grabbing ninjas before the council would finally open their eyes to the truth that the security of Konoha was of vital importance. Unfortunately, by the time they had realized that, most of Konoha's ninja's had already been killed during the invasion. There was an old saying, "Better late than never." Ibiki-sensei hated that saying. "It is either now or never, because there is no guarantee of a later." So along with the regular assassination missions, each cell, or team in her and Naruto's case, was given a set of days that they would patrol around the village. Training for this included an advanced period of instruction over Genjutsu by Yuuhi Kurenai. After finding out that Kabuto's Genjutsu had put nearly the entire arena to sleep for the invasion, Kurenai insisted that whatever security detail Konoha employed be capable of detecting and dispelling and advanced Genjutsus that may come about. Kiba didn't take that particular course, since most Genjutsus don't affect the nose so he could still sniff out imposters.

After her relief arrived, Ino immediately began looking for her partner, in the hopes of coaxing him into heading over to the Oasis for a quick bite to eat. When she finally did find him, however, she immediately dashed any hopes of getting him to go anywhere.

If someone had taken a rag doll and tried to play desert soccer with it, you would probably be close to what Ino saw. Naruto had never looked more of a wreck than he did at this very moment. She had already been informed by Naruto about his 'training sessions' with the Kazekage, but it had been 4 days since that had begun, and he had always walked away from them looking only slightly ruffled and a bit sandy. Curious as to what could have possibly happened, she immediately jumped from the rooftops down to where he was dragging himself along. "Oi, Naruto, what the hell happened to you?"

Naruto turned his head towards Ino, and for the first time that Ino could remember, Naruto actually looked like he was completely out of energy. "Training…… with Gaara………"

"Well yeah I kinda figured that, but he never left you looking like this." Ino brushed off a patch of sand that was in his hair.

"Brought……. Temari today………. Had to take both……. of their attacks. Need…….food pills……."

Ino, always prepared for anything that came her way, grabbed a couple from her pouch and fed them to him. Seconds later, he stood up straight and was back to normal.

"Ah, that feels much better. Thanks Ino." He took a seat at the nearest bench he could find. "But yeah, Gaara said he wanted to make his training more interesting, so he brought Temari with him today and they had a competition to see who could hit me the most amount of times. Gaara won, and Temari was slightly pissed, so Gaara told her to take out her frustrations on me."

Ino had taken a seat across from him and wanted to say something about Naruto's treatment, but realized that she couldn't. Naruto had already admitted that what had happened in the Oasis was his fault, so he would be taking the punishment. "Oh well, sucks for you."

Naruto groaned at her, turning his head away. "Thanks for the support."

Ino giggled a little before perking up again. "Oh, guess what I just found out?"

Naruto turned his eyes back to Ino, somewhat interested.

"Kiba got Tenten to join the Anbu. He made sure that she wouldn't be put into any of the other Anbu cells either, so the four of us can actually do missions together"

This, of course, got Naruto's attention. The part of his brain that actually involved thinking got put to work once again as he realized just how much Tenten's addition to their little group rounded them out. Naruto was mainly the muscle of their squad. He was the one you sent in to clear out most of the enemy with his obscenely high chakra capacity couple with his mastery of Kage Bunshin no Jutsu. Ino was the brains and recon part of the whole. Her understanding of strategy that she picked up from Shikamaru, combined with her ability to scout ahead without being conspicuous made her one of the most valuable members of the Anbu. Kiba was the tracker. Be it traps, ambushes, or things that just didn't seem right, nothing escaped his and Akamaru's noses. And they were no slouches in close combat either. However, the one thing that they lacked was a decent ranged fighter, someone who could keep the enemy at bay in case the Army of Naruto was not around. Enter Tenten. When she was being humble, she would say that she was just good at what she did. When people praised her, they said she was the greatest ranged fighter to have ever graced the earth. "That's awesome! Now there is no team alive today that can stop us."

Ino didn't look as enthused as he did. In fact, she didn't look enthused at all. "Yeah, but you know that we are going to have to work them into the meld that you and I have, and I don't think I need to remind you what that means."

Naruto, as Ino just suggested, already knew what she was talking about, but apparently wasn't at all concerned about what it meant. "I know that. But I think it will be a bit easier this time though, since I have already told you. Besides, after what you did for not telling you, I don't even want to think about what Kiba would do." His hand drifted slightly towards his crotch region but kept himself from being obvious to Ino. Then his eyes shot open, as if he had just realized something, before returning to their gloomy look once again. "Damnit! If this goes as smoothly as I think it will then I gotta tell Gaara that he was right again. He told me it would be easier to tell after the first one." He crossed his arms and looked angry. "I'm really starting to miss the old Gaara. The one that didn't really say anything unless it was important."

Ino watched with visible amusement as Naruto described his plight to her. She had gotten used to this particular reaction from Naruto after he had told her about some foolish bet he had made with the reigning Kazekage. According to Naruto, every time Gaara gave Naruto some advice and it was correct, Naruto had to walk up to Gaara and admit to his face that he was right. If he gave him bad advice, Naruto would be granted any one wish that was within Gaara's power to give. So far, Gaara had been right 3 out of 3 times. "I don't know. Gaara nowadays is actually pretty entertaining. I wonder what kinds of things he could come up with if we asked him to pull a prank with us. I'd be willing to bet he could out-prank you in your prime."

"Ino, don't even joke about that. I have only declared one person to even be my equal and I plan on keeping it that way. Speaking of said person, did you get a chance to talk to her after the first exam?"

"Actually yeah. And from what I have heard, she has taken your advice to heart. Got the attention of just about everyone present during the first exam. I believe Ibiki-sensei described her as 'The loudest, most annoying Genin to take his test since Uzumaki Naruto. The only difference between the two is that she had a brain in her head.' "

Naruto was angry for about .5 seconds before breaking out laughing at her comment. "Well, I suppose I can't argue with that since I didn't even put an answer for the test when we took it."

Ino shook her head from side to side, but continued. "Anyway, coordinating the next exam, and entering the classroom in similar fashion as our exams, was Mitarashi Anko."

Naruto shivered slightly at the name. Ibiki may have been the most sadistic bastard that Naruto had ever met, but Anko definitely gave him a run for his money. After Naruto had brought back Sasuke, Anko actually came up and congratulated him on his accomplishment. Anko, who had also had a special seal place over her own cursed seal, did the one thing that Naruto never expected her to do; she offered to buy him dinner and a movie. Now seeing as this was during his Sakura phase, he immediately declined, wanting to keep up the appearance of being available. Then she began to whisper into his ear about the extracurricular activities. Naruto, being a man, immediately opened his ears. Anko wouldn't say exactly what they would do. She just said that it would involve a bed. And 4 pairs of handcuffs. And a basket full of assorted fruits. And a metal rack full of kunai, shurikens, senbon needles, a whip, a blindfold, and many more 'toys'.

To this day Naruto has done everything in his power to avoid being on the same street as Anko.

He shook himself out of that particular memory to resume his conversation with Ino. "If she's here then they are in the Forest of Death right now. Hope Shika prepared them for that."

Ino nodded her head. "Hey Naruto, after the preliminaries, you think you could possibly help me with Inoria's training? She said that she still needed to refine her Taijutsu and aside from Lee, you are probably the best teacher for her."

"Uh, sure, considering that Gaara doesn't kill me before hand, and she actually makes it to-"He would never finish that sentence, and when he realized why, he was glad that he didn't. Ino had reached over to him, grabbed him by the front of his shirt, and pulled him in close enough for him to see the fire that was spouting from her eyes.

"Were you actually going to say that Inoria might not make it into the final matches?"

Naruto tried his best to remain calm, so he could sound rational when he made his argument. "Well, come on Ino, think back to our exams. Of the four Konoha Kunoichi, Tenten had the best chance of winning it all. She had a year's worth of experience over you, Sakura, and Hinata, and she was kick-ass with her ranged weapons. But she got matched up against someone that countered her abilities easily. What happens if she meets an opponent that can counter her every move? And then look at Neji, another Genin that was a year older than us. He was a top contender to win it all, an in the end it was me, the one no one thought had a chance at winning, at even making the final matches, that ended up beating him. Now granted I had a little help with that match, but you get the idea."

The fire in Ino's eyes diminished little by little, until there was none left. When he wanted to, Naruto knew how to make sense. "I guess you have a point, but you didn't have to be so negative about it." It was then that she heard it. The extremely strained sounds of laughter coming from her partner. Her face nearly fell to the ground when she realized that she had just been had. "You didn't just….."

The eruption of laughter that came from Naruto was as huge as an erupting volcano, and by the time it was over, Naruto was almost out of breath again. "Did you really think that I thought Inoria wasn't going to make it? Not only would you kill me for saying that, but then _she_ would bring me back and kill me."

Ino couldn't believe that she just allowed herself to become the victim of a perfectly laid Uzumaki Naruto prank. "I'm gonna get you back for that one someday." Ino finally stood up. "Well, I'm going to get some food into my system. You up for coming?"

"Not if we are going to the Oasis. I apologized to the manager and although she graciously accepted it, she still banned me from entering for two weeks. Fortunately, I was able to turn all of the blame onto me; otherwise you would be banned as well."

"I see. Well ok then we can just head over to Ichiraku's today. I haven't had ramen in a while."

Naruto stood up and walked up next to Ino. "Great, Teuchi and Ayame have actually missed seeing you there." He began walking with her towards the stand, but stopped when he caught sight of a couple of familiar figures. "Oi! Kiba, Tenten!"

-Ichiraku Ramen-

"So that's basically it. Naruto and I have already shared whatever secrets and abilities we have with each other, and because of that we have become a stronger team. Therefore, it only makes sense that the four of us do the same thing." Ino finished her explanation and took another bite of the miso ramen that sat before her.

Kiba and Tenten had just returned from a pretty simple assassination mission, just a little something to help Tenten get into the Anbu lifestyle. Tenten had suggested that they go ahead and eat before calling it an early day when Naruto had called out to them.

Ino congratulated Tenten on making it into the Anbu and welcomed her into their team, briefly going into what needed to be done before they could be considered a true team. Kiba was already aware of this little part of their team, but hadn't really been able to act on it, since he was in his tracker training with his sister. However, his sister had already deemed him skilled enough to return to his regular Anbu missions. He had already advanced more than was necessary in his training, so Hana figured that he could use a break from his training.

Naruto allowed his newly formed skills in observation to take over once again, and found that Tenten was being suspiciously quiet during the entire conversation. What's more, a few of the times that he looked over to her, he saw that she was looking nervously in his direction. After a while of this he became slightly irked and decided to investigate. "Oi, Tenten, anything wrong?"

Tenten was obviously not expecting him to speak to her because she was visibly startled by the sound of his voice. "Huh? Oh, nothing. Don't worry about it."

Naruto, being the newly discovered gentleman that he was, was about to drop the issue, but Ino wasn't having any of that. "No, it's ok. We already agreed that there would be no secrets, so spill it."

Tenten looked back down at her empty bowl of ramen, first wondering just how she had finished it all without knowing, then asking herself just how she was going to say this. "Naruto, do you mind if we speak alone for a while?"

Both Kiba and Ino looked a little confused, and although Naruto was on the same boat as them, he still nodded his head and stood, placing some money on the table next to his bowl. "Alright then, follow me. I know the perfect place." Not even waiting for her to acknowledge him, simply because he already knew she would be following, he bounded off for his usual thinking spot.

-Hokage Monument-

Once Tenten set foot atop the head of the Yondaime, she automatically wished that she had gone there more often. The view from up there was absolutely stunning. Now she understood why Naruto suggested this place.

"The only people who ever come up here are me, Ino and anyone that I invite up here. The Sandaime use to bring me here all the time whenever he wanted to talk to me, so I figured this would be the best place to get whatever it was off of your chest." After stretching out for a minute he turned to Tenten. "Ok, so what is it?"

Tenten, nervous as she was, actually managed to look Naruto in his eyes. "I had been thinking about this for a while now, but I wasn't sure just how I would explain it. Because for a while now, I wasn't sure if I was supposed to feel grateful or angry with you." She took a deep breath, mentally preparing herself for what she was about to say. Naruto, recognizing the mixed bag of emotions that was present within his new teammate, remained silent.

"When I found out that I was going to be on the same Genin team as Neji, I was thrilled. He was the number one rookie of our class, and I was voted number one Kunoichi. I didn't necessarily care that Lee, the worse student of our class, was going to be on our team. I figured that as long as Neji was there, we were flawless. Because back then, I thought, no I knew Neji was flawless.

"That way of thinking really obscured my perceptions of what a team was. To me, it didn't matter whether or not I was perfect with my weapons, or how hard Lee worked with Gai-sensei on his Taijutsu. As long as Neji was always there to complete our missions, we were a team. Because I believed that a team was just a group of ninjas that completed missions. The harder the missions that they completed, the better the team was." Tenten walked to the edge of the monument and looked out over the village.

"I wasn't exactly sure when it was, but sometime before the Chuunin exams he began to start talking about fate and destiny. And seeing as I had already developed something of a silent obsession with him, I automatically started believing everything that he said. In my mind, everything that he said was true. Everything that he did was just. He was not capable of being incorrect at anything.

"When the Chuunin exams started, though I did continue to refine my own techniques, I was sure that Neji would carry us all the way through the team portions of the exams. I knew that it was his destiny to make it all the way to Chuunin, just as I realized that it was my destiny to lose my match to Temari. I even accepted the fact that Lee, with all of his hard work, effort, and practically unbeatable taijutsu, lost his match. It was his destiny to lose. Just as Neji had said, a dropout will always be a dropout.

"At that time, I had no idea who you were, besides the fact that you were the bottom of the barrel for your class. So when I found out that Neji would be facing you in his first match, it wasn't 'Who would go on to the next round?' It was, 'Who would Neji be facing in the next round?' Destiny had it that Neji was supposed to win and that you were supposed to lose. Badly. You were the worst in your class; he was the best in his. And he had a year's worth of experience on you. This match was supposed to be a no contest. And yet, you took everything that I knew, everything that I believed up to that point and threw it out the window. You beat Neji.

"I couldn't believe it, couldn't accept it. Neji was perfect. Neji could never lose. And yet, you just proved him, me, and destiny wrong. I couldn't understand any of it. It was like telling a child that Santa Claus doesn't really exist. How do you accept something like that so suddenly?

"A few days after the exams however, I began to notice a change within Neji. We had heard about Lee's condition from Gai-sensei, and right after that Neji began to hang out with Lee. After Lee's surgery we began to resume missions, and Neji started incorporating us into his strategies.

"I was curious as to what had happened to him, so I sat him down and tried speaking with him. What he told me was so unlike him that for a while, I didn't even believe that what he said was true. 'My eyes are the best in Konoha today, and yet I had them closed this whole time. My fight with Naruto allowed me to open them for the first time ever. I had been so blinded by my preoccupation with destiny that I couldn't see something that he could. He showed me that although it was my destiny as a Hyuuga Branch Family member to protect the Main Family, I had altered my own destiny by nearly murdering my own cousin. It was my destiny to remain weaker than the Main Family, and yet I taught myself attacks that only Main Family members can learn. I allowed my eyes to remain closed to that truth, and Naruto opened them back up. So now I have decided to live my life the way he does; my own way.'

"It wasn't until days after that when I realized that I had allowed myself to be blinded by my obsession with his views. I realized that by making him the center of my universe, I had given up any of my personal opinions about everything. At that time was also when I became so confused that I couldn't sleep at night. In the one hand, I thought that I should have been angry with you. You had destroyed everything that I believed, everything that I knew. I didn't know what to think anymore. But then, I thought I should have been grateful to you. According to Neji, you beating him was the best thing that has ever happened to him. I have spent years trying to figure this out, and I finally have an answer." She turned back to Naruto, locking eyes with him. "Thank you, Naruto, for not only saving Neji, but for saving me."

Before today, Naruto didn't really think that his fight with Neji was that big of a deal. It was a fight. He won, Neji lost. But after hearing this from Tenten, it became somewhat clear to him that his fight had indeed changed Neji. Yes, it wasn't the first time that one of his pep talks/fights had changed his opponent or the person he was defending, but he still couldn't believe that of all people, Neji actually benefited tremendously from his fight. Naruto smiled slightly at that. "Well, I guess you're welcome, but I did kinda have an unfair advantage in that fight."

Tenten, instantly curious, said "What do you mean?"

Naruto took his own deep breath. "You remember the story behind the Kyuubi right? Well they kinda alter a couple of details. Unfortunately, the Yondaime couldn't kill it. Instead he sealed it away into a newborn baby."

Tenten's eyes shot open. "Wait, you can't mean….."

"Well, don't you think it strange that my birthday and the Kyuubi festival are on the same day?" Naruto gulped hard, waiting to see just what Tenten's reaction would be. However, before she could even formulate a coherent thought, someone else decided to make their presence, as well as their opinion, known.

"WHAAAAAAAAT?? So that is how you were able to beat me during our match?" Kiba, who had been trying to hide from the other two during their conversation, jumped out of the bushes and point a finger angrily at Naruto.

Naruto was a bit surprised at first but recovered quickly. "Actually, no. During our match, there was a seal on me that caused the Kyuubi's chakra to not mix well with mine. So even without the Kyuubi's chakra, I'm sure I would have still beaten you."

Kiba hung his head, looking completely dejected. "No fair."

"By the way, where is Ino?"

Kiba looked up at Naruto, surprised by his question. "Ino? Why would she be up here?"

Naruto sighed. "Because the only reason you would be up here is if Ino brought you up here. She is getting far to obsessed with this whole team building thing."

"Well can you blame me? It works well for us." Ino walked out from the bushes that she was hiding in as well.

"Yeah, but could you have at least waited until we got back? We were having a pretty serious conversation here."

Tenten shook her head. "It's alright. This keeps me from having to repeat myself."

Naruto looked over to her and nodded. Then he got that look that people get when they remember something that they really don't want to remember and started to head down the path leading back to the village. "You guys go ahead and get started on that whole team bonding thing. I'll be right back. I think."

Ino looked over had her partner slightly worried. "Naruto, where are you going?"

Naruto turned back slowly, looking about as frustrated as ever. "I have to go tell Gaara that he was right. Again."

-End-

Ok a couple of notes.

First off. As I am sure you have all noticed, I shall be skipping over most of the exam two reasons. One, I was unable to come up with any original ideas for the exams. Two, I don't want to bore any of you by simple taking the original exam and pasting some new faces on them.

Secondly, as I am sure you have noticed, as a result of my poll I am attempting to give Tenten a decently sized part in this story. I did well with Gaara. Tell me what you think of Tenten. And yes, she will be fighting soon.

That's all for now. R&R&have a nice day.


	10. Final Mayhem

-Chapter 10 Final Mayhem-

"Winner; Yamanaka Inoria."

The youngest of the mind jumpers, held one of her fisted arms in the sky as the crown erupted into cheers for the hometown ninja. Inoria was sure that at least her semi-final bout would have been something of a challenge. Unfortunately, she found herself completely disappointed at the lack of good competition at this stage of the exams.

The first exam proved to be every bit as frustrating as her sister warned her, for the simple reason that she could have been perfect and still failed the exam. Shikaru wasn't an issue. She had absolutely no doubts about whether he could get past this part. Chogun was a different issue. She knew that without help, he would probably panic immediately. Silently thanking her sister for teaching her the mind tag, she was able to help Chogun through the written part of that exam.

Then came the infamous tenth question. Ino hadn't informed her on that, saying that if Ibiki-sensei decided to go that route, then she didn't want to spoil the surprise. And she was right. Half of the class sat in stunned silence after Ibiki explained how the tenth question would be performed. Inoria, visibly pissed off at how calm the man seemed to be about stopping all of their ninja dreams right then and there if they answered incorrectly, was about to jump right up in his face and tell him just what she thought about his stupid rules. Looking back on it, she guessed that it was a good thing that Shikaru used Kage Mane no Jutsu to keep her from doing just that, even if he risked exposing his secret weapon. Fortunately, no one noticed his shadow moving across the ground.

So she sat there and yelled at the man for making up stupid rules, all the way up until he threatened to fail her and her team if she didn't shut up. Inoria looked as if she were on the verge of exploding right there, but shut her mouth all the same. Though it would immediately fall open again when, after all of the ones that decided they couldn't hack it left, Ibiki announced that the ones that stayed all passed. He then went on with his explanation, which Inoria was surprised to learn, actually made a lot of sense.

The calm atmosphere of the classroom wouldn't last long though. Immediately after he was done, Mitarashi Anko made her appearance, the exact same way that Ino had described. She told them about where they would meet for the next exam and dismissed them for the day.

The Forest of Death. The way Ino had described it, this was quite possibly the worst place in the world to be stuck in for any amount of time, much less for five days. After this exam was over, Inoria began to wonder if her sister had simply over exaggerated a little. Within half an hour of entering, they had run into a team with an opposite scroll to theirs, and 10 minutes after that, were on their way to the center tower. After one and a half days of traveling and skillfully dodging other teams, they were at the tower getting debriefed.

With 3 and a half days until the exam was over, Inoria got together with her teammates and made one thing perfectly clear to both of them. "From this point on, we aren't competing as a team. It's every ninja for themselves. So if either of you end up facing me, I expect you to give it everything you got. I know how good you can be when you are motivated Shikaru. Don't hold back on me. Chogun, I know you'll do anything for food, so give it your all, and I promise that we will go out for all you can eat on me. Got it?"

Shikaru let out a bored sigh when she was done. "We already know this Inoria. And while I do think that it would be somewhat troublesome to have to face you, don't worry. Neither of us plans of holding back."

By the end of the preliminaries, Only Inoria and Shikaru made it to the final matches.

Which leads us to the present. Shikaru mimicked his older cousin's performance and skillfully lead his opponent into a series of well laid traps, all leading to his final trap. Unfortunately, as if history wished to repeat itself, Shikaru had used up most of his chakra just snaring his opponent, and gave up immediately after catching him. His opponent, a rain ninja that specialized in Suiton Ninjutsu, would go on to be defeated by a Rock ninja that looked to be as great a taijutsu specialist as Rock Lee.

Inoria defeated both of her opponents, wearing them down with some of the most advanced Taijutsu techniques ever seen in a Yamanaka, trapping them within her Shinranshin no Jutsu, and then torturing them until they had no choice but to give up.

Inoria looked up at the balcony where her final opponent stood. She had heard a lot about this ninja named Hojo Rokuro from his Jonin sensei. Like Lee, he was born with severely underdeveloped chakra coils, and therefore unable to use Genjutsu or Ninjutsu. So, taking after his role models, he completely dedicated himself to Taijutsu. Thankfully, he only inherited their fighting choices and not their fashion sense.

She watched his match against Chogun with extreme interest, especially after he was able to stop Chogun's Baika no Jutsu with kick during the prelims. Judging from the crowd's reaction to their fights, she had no doubts that they were going to be on the edge of their seats waiting for the final match. The thought brought a wide grin to her face.

"We shall now have a short intermission before the next match begins. Be back here in 15 minutes." Genma disappeared as soon as he was finished. Inoria made her way back to the balcony to attempt to patiently wait for her match to begin.

-Near the top of the stadium-

To say that Ino was proud of how her sister had done would be the same as saying Sakura liked Sasuke. Ino hadn't even made it past the preliminaries, and now here she was getting ready to watch her sister compete in the final match of the tournament.

Granted she was going to have to do it with her attention divided, considering that she was supposed to be pulling security for the exam. It did have its advantages, however, as she didn't have to sit with her parents while they drilled her on just how Inoria knew Shinranshin no Jutsu.

During her month long training break, Inoria had spent most of her time refining her Taijutsu with Naruto. She was not worried about most of the ninjas that she would possibly face, but after seeing Rokuro compete she knew that she needed to be as proficient as she could in Taijutsu in order to keep up. When she wasn't beating her body up until it couldn't take anymore, she was with her sister improving her control of her mental attacks, and learning how to take some of her basic moves to the next level, like learning how to use Shintenshin no Jutsu to not only control your opponents body, but to also look inside their mind and dig out any memories you need. It was almost as taxing as the Taijutsu training, but when it came time for her to chose which direction she wanted her ninja career to go, she would appreciate the extra training.

Glancing over to the other side of the stadium, she caught sight of Naruto, who thankfully looked a lot better than he had ever did this past month. Gaara had finally ended their "Training session" the day before so Naruto was actually able to get a decent night's sleep before the final tournament. The two of them, along with Kiba and Tenten, had finally started the whole team bonding process, though the serious stuff wouldn't come until they were out on a mission together, though they did make it a point to all go out to the Oasis every now and then for a group dinner, though that didn't start until after Naruto was allowed to enter the Oasis again.

The cheering of the crowd brought her attention back to the center of the field. Genma had reappeared, and was apparently calling the finalist back so they could begin the fight. Ino let a small smile reappear across her masked face. Whether she won or lost, there was no doubt in Ino's mind that Inoria was going to make Chuunin by the end of this fight. Continuing to keep a sharp eye out for anything suspicious, she looked down and prepared to watch her sister's match.

-Battle Ground-

"You both already know the rules. First person to get killed, knocked out, surrenders, or is deemed unable to continue loses. This is the last match, and you two have built up a lot of expectations in the crowd, so give it everything you got."

Inoria didn't hear a word that Genma said. Partially because she already knew most of it, but mostly because she was focused on her opponent. Coming at him with nothing less than her absolute best was out of the question. She just prayed that he would think the same of her.

"Before we begin, Yamanaka-san," She was immediately caught off guard, not necessarily by the disruption, but by the fact that it came from Rokuro. "I just want you to know that I shall not be holding back on you just because you are a female ninja. I expect you to do the same for me."

'Well, guess I don't have to worry about that anymore.' She gave a small nod and refocused herself.

Genma looked to both fighters. "Yamanaka Inoria vs. Hojo Rokuro. Let the match…….. begin!"

Inoria immediately jumped back and fell into a defensive stance. 'Attacking him right off the bat is suicide. Let's see if we can see just how good he is.'

Rokuro eased himself into an offensive stance and inched forward towards Inoria. Inoria did not allow herself to retreat an inch. For a good minute nothing happened. The wind stopped blowing, and the crowd grew extremely quiet. This was definitely the calm before the storm that Inoria had heard her sister talk about so many times. She began to feel her legs start to tremble, but not out of fear. She was getting anxious. She wanted this fight to get started already, but she was determined to stick with her strategy and waited for Rokuro to either make the first move, or provide her with an opening.

Rokuro, on the other hand, apparently wasn't as patient as she was. He got things started by lunging straight at her with a leg sweep. Inoria had seen this too many times when she watched Lee and Gai-sensei spar. Timing it just right, she chambered her leg and shot it diagonally, stopping his leg.

Rokuro looked up at her surprised. Inoria simply smiled down at him. "Trying to force me to jump over your sweep so that I would be unable to avoid your next kick. Sorry, but you're going to have to do better than that." Stepping on his still outstretched leg she brought her other leg around for a roundhouse kick to his head. Rokuro immediately reacted, laying flat on his back and allowing her leg to pass over him. Then, in the same motion, he brought his other leg around to sweep the leg she was using to pin his leg down. Inoria, barely catching this movement, used the momentum of her kick to back flip off of his leg before he could connect. She landed on the ground and he nipped up at the same time, and simultaneously returned to their fighting stances.

Rokuro automatically went back on the attack, unleashing a flurry of punches and kicks, which he was surprised to find, could not find their mark. Whether she dodged or blocked, Inoria made sure that none of his strikes connected where he wanted them to. 'She's good. Obviously been preparing for this. Looks like I'm going to have to step it up a notch.' Purposefully telegraphing his next kick, he unleashed a monstrous roundhouse kick to her head, which she obviously dodged.

Inoria didn't even think about how an expert Taijutsu user could possibly overshoot an attack this early in the fight. He had just given her a wide open door to burst through, and she was going to take it. She jumped into the air and brought a leg back, planning to shoot her heel directly into his spine, not even hearing the small laugh that escaped his lips.

Just half a second before her kick would have connected, Rokuro disappeared. Inoria, not expecting her target to simply not be there anymore, was caught a little off balance in the air and was completely unprepared for the kick that caught her right in her gut. Inoria dropped straight to the ground clutching her stomach. 'What the hell was that?'

"Wasn't expecting that, were you Yamanaka-san?" Inoria looked up to see Rokuro, assuming his stance, smiling down at her. "I shall only ask you once. Surrender now. If not then I shall not hold back on you."

Inoria stood right back up and glared at him. "I don't give up. And I will not lose here." She assumed her defensive stance once again. "Bring it."

Rokuro let out a sigh and disappeared again. Inoria immediately began looking around for him. 'OK so he can move like Lee can. He has to get tired sooner or later. All I have to do is endure it.'

That would prove to be a difficult task for Inoria, as no matter how much chakra she put into her blocks, Rokuro's blows still packed a decent wallop. For the better part of ten minutes, the fight trudged on just like this. Rokuro was apparently excellent at pacing himself, and was able to keep his high speeds up for a lot longer than anyone thought. Inoria, however, proved that defense could be just as good as offense. Right at the point of impact, Inoria was able to use her great flexibility and quick reflexes to move her body in the direction that it was being hit, significantly lowering the amount of damage she took, though she still took damage.

After a while though, her moves started to slow down, and she began to take more and more damage, while Rokuro only looked a little flushed from all of the moving around he had done. 'Damnit, He barely even looks tired at all. Ok, throw that plan out the window. What next? Come on Inoria, think. You have one of the greatest minds in the world. Use it!' It hit her so fast that she felt stupid for not thinking of it sooner.

Almost as soon as she was back on her feet, Rokuro was on the move, vanishing once again. He appeared behind her and kicked her straight in the back, sending her flying across the ground. Inoria just barely reoriented herself and landed on her feet away from Rokuro.

"Well, have you had enough now, Yamanaka-san?" Rokuro allowed his arms to drop to his side, partially because he didn't feel threatened by her anymore, and partially because he was starting to feel tired from all of the moving he had done. He did retain a confident smile on his face.

Though, that smile would disappear when he saw the one Inoria had on hers. "What do you have to smile about? You are about to lose this match to a far superior ninja."

Inoria stood straight and stared him in the eyes. "You haven't beaten me yet, so you don't know if you are superior to me."

Rokuro sighed. "Don't say I didn't warn you." And with that he was gone once again.

However when he would reappear behind Inoria to deliver another kick, he would be met with a fist to the face that sent him staggering back.

Rokuro retreated back a few paces and looked back up at her. "What the..? How did she….?" Inoria lunged at him once again, going on the offensive for the first time this battle. She began to drive a bewildered Rokuro back a little bit, but had to go back on the defensive when Rokuro finally got back into his rhythm. He then tried again, disappearing and reappearing behind her, and was met with a mule kick to the gut. This time he fought through the pain and relocated himself in front of her, hoping to catch her off guard, but was caught with an axe kick to the shoulder. He immediately felt the joint pop out of place, but was able to keep himself from collapsing from the pain. He jumped back, clutching his shoulder, while Inoria went back on the offensive. This time, Rokuro could not regain control, as he had to try to stop her with one good arm, and against someone who was as well versed in Taijutsu as she was, that wasn't easy even for him. She finally caught him good when she feigned a right hook, causing him to flinch backwards, and hit him with a back flip kick. Rokuro did a back flip of his own, but instead of landing on his feet as Inoria had done, he landed face first in the ground.

Inoria stood tall a few meters away from him, breathing as hard as she had ever done. In this sense, she was glad that her first two fights had been pushovers. She doubted she would have been able to pull this one off if she had to assert herself earlier.

One the other side of this coin, Rokuro looked like he had been hit by a car, but was still managing to slowly make it to his feet, though there was little doubt as to whether he would be able to continue to fight. "How? How were you suddenly able to keep up with me? I had you beat."

Inoria smiled and pointed to her head. "The hand may be quicker than the eye, but the mind is the fastest of them all. When you sent me sailing with that kick to the back, I mind tagged you. I had to get you when I knew you would stay still long enough for me to tag you, and seeing as you only did so after striking me, I kinda had to make a sacrifice to do so."

Rokuro simply laughed at that. "Well played Yamanaka-san. And now you may end it."

Inoria considered her options for a second. Considering the venue, she thought it would be wise to allow him to surrender before attempting to put him out of his misery. Something to help her look good in front of the higher ups. However, hanging around with a couple of Anbu members for as long as she had completely shot and feelings of mercy she had for her opponent. "Very well then. Good fight." She charged him, ready to put him out of his misery any way she believed she could. She didn't care what she did; she just wanted to look good doing it. She focused all of her attention on putting down Rokuro, shutting out every other thing around her.

So you can imagine how she wouldn't have noticed the kunai that landed right behind her until after the explosive tag that was attached to it exploded.

-Roof of the Stadium-

Ino was already halfway down to the field before the ninja that she killed, the ninja that threw the kunai, even hit the ground. If she had been paying more attention to his movements, she would have noticed the fact that said kunai had an explosive tag attached long before it ever left his hand. As it was, by the time she realized it, the explosion had already concealed her sister from her sight.

Naturally, she first felt an undying fear for her sister's safety, which quickly turned into rage towards the ninja that had decided to try to sneak up on her. Looking back on it, maybe she should have simply killed him then instead on letting him get as close as he could before surprising him. Maybe then he wouldn't have been able to throw that kunai.

Retrospect, however, was not one of Ino's best qualities when the situation was as such. Neither was perceptiveness, as she completely ignored the fact that every person present had started moving for the exits.

Working her way through the smoke and dust brought on by the explosion, she finally located her sister, and immediately assumed the worst when she saw that she was not moving. Immediately at her side, she was able to force herself to think rationally enough to check her pulse, and heaved a huge sigh of relief when she felt it. It was weak, but at least it was there.

It was then that she felt the presence of another standing behind her, and turned immediately to face them, ready to kill whoever it was. She relaxed, slightly when she found herself staring into the green eyes on Sakura.

For what seemed like an eternity, nothing happened. Neither of them moved nor spoke.

"I don't care what you think of me. I don't care about what has happened between us in the past. I'm not asking you to do me a favor. I'm just asking you to help her."

Sakura looked from the near lifeless body of Inoria to Ino and back to Inoria. "I'll take care of her. It's my job." Ino immediately transferred Inoria over to Sakura. "I'm not going to thank you."

"I know." Sakura turned and carried her off to the medical shelter.

It was then that Ino noticed the amount of activity that was going on. The stands had finally cleared of civilians, but the ninja's remained, currently engaging in battle with an army of foreign ninjas. Ino cracked her knuckles and jumped into the fray, determined to make as many of them suffer for what had happened to her sister.

(From this point on I shall bounce between P.O.V.s, so please read carefully)

"Has anyone ever told you that Konoha has very bad luck with Chuunin exams?"

Tsunade looked over to the Kazekage, surprised that he could make a joke at this point. Immediately after the explosion, and entire army of ninjas appeared at the stadium roof and the entrance way. Tsunade ordered all of the Jonin and Anbu units available to start the counterattack, while the rest of them evacuated the people through the secret exits within the stadium. That part had worked out just fine. The problem now was dealing with the invaders, who only seemed to be multiplying. "Looks like we are going to have to get involved as well." Tsunade turned to the fight and removed her jacket. "Are your siblings here as well?"

"No. Temari and Kankuro are taking care of my Kazekage business while I am here. It's just me."

"Figures. Well, you ready?" When Tsunade didn't get an answer she angrily turned back to him, only to find nothing more than a wisp of sand where he once stood. "I hate it when he does that." She jumped out of the booth and into the heart of the fight.

Outside of the stadium, Naruto had already begun his fight against the invaders, currently taking on a group of about 20 of them himself. He easily dodged and blocked their strikes as they came, and quickly finished them off with a kunai slash to the neck. By the time he was finished with the first wave, he was barely even breathing hard. "Come on, I know there are some better ones here."

As if on cue, a slew of about 75 more ninjas appeared and surrounded him. "Hmm, looks like I'm going to need some help." He smirked widely and created the necessary seal. "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu." 9 more Naruto popped into existence, each one holding a kunai in both hands. "Alright, let's go." They each picked a direction and lunged.

Tenten and Kiba stood back to back, facing their own group of ninjas. Tenten had reverted back to her Genin days, holding a few different scrolls instead of just one big one. Not to say that her big scroll wasn't as effective, but as a ninja in Konoha's Anbu, it kinda stood out.

Kiba stood without Akamaru, who was at the moment assisting in the evacuation of the civilians. He wasn't at all worried, however, as he had done some supplemental training with his sister on techniques that could be used without the aid of his partner. "Ready Tenten?"

Tenten removed a couple of scrolls from her pouch. "Been ready, I was just waiting for you."

Kiba smirked and popped a soldier pill into his mouth. "Then let's get started." Tenten unleashed a barrage of weapons upon her unsuspecting victims.

Kiba jumped into the air and said only one word. "Gatsuga!"

The fight continued on like this for an hour. Konoha, initially surprised by the sudden attack, rallied early and was able to push the invaders back. "Ok, that's enough. We've done what we came to do. Now it's time to retreat." The invaders began to hastily make their way back to where they came. Unfortunately, one of them would not make it, as he would be the victim of Shinranshin no Jutsu, courtesy of Yamanaka Ino.

The rest of them quickly made their way through the forest, hoping to escape the clutches of the rest of the Konoha ninjas. A few minutes later they came across a series of signs that read, "Caution," "Funeral ahead," "Take detour." Obviously not taking them seriously, the ninjas pressed onwards.

Several moments later, they emerged from the forest into a wide open grass field. With no trees in sight, they were forced to begin retreating on the ground. One of them quickly noted that they had not passed a grass field to get to Konoha, but did not speak up about it. It would be the last mistake he would ever make.

"Ryuusa Bakuryu!"Out of nowhere, a giant wave of sand appeared in front of them. They tried to avoid it, and would have succeeded if the sand didn't decide to suddenly reach out and grab each of them, pulling them into the wave. The entire field was suddenly covered with sand, with nary a sigh of any of the ninjas.

A small whirlwind of sand appeared and from it, Gaara stepped out, eyes close and shaking his head. "Once again, no one listens to me. I even went through the trouble of making those signs for them as well. I told them there was a funeral going on this way." He kneeled down and placed both hands on the sand to put the finishing touches on this little battle. "Sabaku Taisou! (Desert Imperial Funeral.)"

The same way he dramatically increases the pressure he has on the sand when he used Sabaku Sousou, he did the same with the massive amount of sand that the ninjas were buried under, killing them on the spot.

He stood up, brushed off his shirt, and headed back to Konoha. "Maybe they would have believed me if I told them it was their funeral."

-Anbu Torture and Interrogation HQ-

"I ain't saying anything to you. You might as well kill me." The ninja that Ino had captured was sitting defiantly in his cell, awaiting interrogation.

"And don't worry we will. After we get what we want from you. And don't worry; you won't have to say a thing." Morino Ibiki stood stock still in front of his next victim, waiting until his apprentice returned so they could begin.

"Ok, ready Ibiki-sensei?" Ino walked right in, apparently all business.

"How is your sister? She gonna live?" Ibiki wasn't trying to be insensitive. It just usually came out that way.

Fortunately, Ino had been around him enough to understand that. "She's ok. Because she was already moving forward, the blast didn't do as much damage as it would have." She mind tagged Ibiki and faced her target. "Ok, I'm going in." She raised her arms and made the window into another person's mind. "Shintenshin no Jutsu."

She was highly disappointed when she next came too. The inside of this person's mind was just as blank as Sakura's. "Ok, Ibiki-sensei, you can get started now."

Of all of the uses she had found for Shintenshin no Jutsu, this had to be one of the best that she had come up with. Normally, when she entered a person's mind she would have to go through door after door after door until she found the memory, or group of memories, that she wanted. However, with the help of Ibiki-sensei, this process was made many times easier. While she was inside of his mind, Ibiki-sensei would be on the outside going through his standard torture and interrogation procedures. What would end up happening was that whichever door the specific memory was stored in would begin to light up. If the memory was connected to another memory, that door would light up as well. However, if Ibiki-sensei could push far enough, one of the doors would light up more than the others. That would be the door she was looking for.

"Go harder, sensei. Nothing's happening yet." Another great use for this was that she didn't to bear witness to Ibiki-sensei's laundry list of torture techniques.

Slowly, a few or the doors began to light up. "That's good. Go a little more." After a while one of them started shining far more that the others. She walked straight to it and opened the door. Taking a deep breath, she walked in.

About 15 minutes later, Ino's body in the real world started to move. Ibiki kneeled down to help her, but before his knee even touched the floor, Ino was up and running. "I need to see Hokage-sama, now!" Ino began to run for the door, when Ibiki stopped her.

"Do we need him anymore?" He turned his head to the prisoner, who looked like he had seen much, much better days.

"No." She opened the door and bounded off."

"Almost 5 years under me and I have never seen her react so strongly to what she found in someone's mind. I've got a bad feeling about this." He turned to his assistants. "You heard the lady. You may go ahead and kill him now."

They all turned back to him, evil smiles on their faces, and sharp objects in their hands.

-End-

Not sure how this one will go over with everyone, but then again I was just using this chapter to set up for the next one. All the same, tell me how I did.

R&R&have a nice day.


	11. Mission Impossible

-Chapter 11 Mission Impossible-

Everyone in the room could feel that whatever was about to be said was not good news. All four members of Naruto's Anbu team were present for this latest briefing by the Godaime Hokage, and none of them, not even Naruto, had even the slightest hint of nerve to even think about cracking a joke right now. It was one of those times where you felt that if you even flinched wrong, Tsunade would reach over her desk and snap your neck in two. The silence was absolutely deafening, almost to the point of being uncomfortable, so Naruto was extremely glad when Tsunade finally decided to speak up.

"As you all know, at approximately 3:35pm yesterday, during the final match of the Chuunin exam, foreign ninjas invaded Konoha. Their numbers are still being determined but it is safe to assume that there were upwards of 200. After being caught off guard by their initial strike, we were able to fight them off, eventually forcing them to retreat. Thankfully, the rest of them were ambushed by Gaara before they were able to get too far away.

"Just as thankfully, Yamanaka Ino was able to capture one of them before he could escape, and took him to the Anbu Torture and Interrogation HQ. Immediately after the session, Ino reported to me her findings, and I am afraid that they are far worse than I could have imagined. The first of which is that those were ninja of the Hidden Sound Village."

Naturally, this struck a very sensitive cord with Naruto, who had spent most of his ninja career fighting the Sound. "That can't be right. Orochimaru is dead, Kabuto is dead, and Sasuke is back here. There shouldn't be anyone left to lead them." He could sense that Ino was slightly irked by his lack of faith in her abilities, but pushed it aside for a second.

"I couldn't believe it either, but that is the case. Ino, I will ask that you explain what you have found."

"Hai, Hokage-sama." Ino stepped in front of Tsunade's desk as turn to face her team. "The Sound is back, but from what I saw, it is not the same sound that we were fighting. This is an entire army of sound ninja's, brought together as a backup plan in case Orochimaru's initial plans weren't met for some reason, like his death. Once word of his death got out, they were on the move, training in secret for a complete invasion of the Five Countries.

"When Orochimaru last spoke to them, he was preparing for his invasion on Konoha. The Sound Army, after catching wind of his death, automatically assumed that Konoha was the reason for his demise, so they prepared to face us down. The force that we just fought was just a quick strike force, sent to simply gauge our strength, and if possible, lower it as much as they believed they could. Obviously they failed."

Tsunade chose this moment to speak up. "That is where you four come in. The main army doesn't know that the attack failed because we were able to kill all of the attackers before they were able to return with their report. This gives us a prime opportunity to strike back before they can mobilize their forces. Inuzuka Kiba, Tenten, Yamanaka Ino, Uzumaki Naruto. Your mission is as follows. Infiltrate the Sound Army's main base. Assassinate as many high ranking officials as you safely can. This should put them into a state of disarray while Gaara and I attempt to get as many other hidden villages to ally themselves with us to stop a possible invasion. Use whatever means necessary to accomplish this. Are there any questions?"

Tenten was starting to sweat a little bit, and various extremities were twitching involuntarily. As the newest member of the Anbu, period, she was still not quite as experienced as any of the other three. She had only done a handful of missions with Kiba, so she was still getting used to how things worked for the Anbu. Now here she was about to participate in an assassination mission that would lead her straight into the heart of literally an army of ninjas, at the personal request of her teammates. She was far too nervous to think straight, let alone ask a question.

Kiba, on the other hand, was genuinely excited about this mission. Ever since he had gotten Tenten into the Anbu, he had been taking far less dangerous missions for the sake of getting her used to her new job. Not to say that he blamed the girl for it, but he was starting to miss the really dangerous mission that he used to go on. This was the breath of fresh air that he needed. He immediately took notice of the agitated state that Tenten was in. He saw this coming a mile away, but still put a hand on her shoulder to comfort her. "It's ok. I know that you are going to kick some major ass on this mission. And besides, we have been working hard on our team unity thing, and last I heard, you and Naruto came up with a couple of decent combinations. I'm sure you will be fine."

Tenten seemed to calm down a little bit after that, though she still seemed a little tense.

Ino had gone into a much more reserved state of agitation, mainly because she was already used to dealing with missions that seemed somewhat one-sided. 'Ok, the actual infiltration shouldn't be that hard. We Henge into four of the ninjas that invaded, plus a few injuries just to make it look real. No, that isn't going to work because they'll want to heal us, and that just might blow our cover if they see that our injuries won't go away.' This was how Ino was. Anything that she could think of before a mission, she thought about it. Sometimes it worked, sometimes it didn't. It did, however, keep her mind busy enough that she didn't have the time to think about just how high the deck was stacked against her.

Naruto was giddy.

Ok, Naruto was more than just giddy. Naruto was absolutely ecstatic about this mission. True, he felt an extreme joy whenever he was told he would be going out on an assassination mission. If he was lucky, he would get to face someone that could truly test his abilities. Unfortunately, he ended up leaving every mission supremely disappointed at the lack of competition that he was met with. This could be his big moment. He had already surmised that they weren't going to be able to assassinate someone as high up on the ladder as they were without someone else noticing right off the bat, and that was perfectly alright with him. If it came to a battle of armies, he couldn't wait to see just how his army stacked up against theirs.

When Tsunade saw that there were no questions, she nodded her head. "You have half an hour to prepare. Good luck to you all."

-Front Gate-

Ino walked slowly to the gate carrying her mask loosely with her fingers. She wasn't surprised to see that Kiba and Tenten were already there waiting on her. They were the early birds of their group most of the time. Kiba also appeared to be attempting to calm down a very tense looking Tenten, and his attempts were working slightly. Ino decided to let them be for a while. Tenten had spent most of her time breaking in to the Anbu with Kiba, so he would know what to say to her better than anyone else.

She was, however, somewhat shocked to see Naruto there, seemingly warming up for the trip, though she already knew that he was just a bit over excited about this particular mission. If there was one thing about him that made him an irreplaceable piece to their puzzle, it was his complete lack of fear whenever they went out on missions, no matter what that mission was. 'Wish I could be that carefree before a mission as seemingly hopeless as this.' "Alright everyone, bring it in." Naruto, still almost spewing energy out of his ears, shuffled in place next to Ino, while Kiba lead Tenten over to complete the group. Tenten took one look at Naruto and seemed to calm down considerably. Ino simply figured that Naruto's confidence was rubbing off a little bit on her.

"Ok, I did a little bit of memory searching on myself, trying to pull up as much miniscule information as I could. The enemy main camp lies about 3000 kilometers east of where the Hidden Sound Village used to be. Obviously, Orochimaru didn't want us to find it if we decided to completely raid the Hidden Sound Village. There are ninja patrols around the outside wall of the base. They change out every few hours. If we leave now and keep a brisk pace, we should get there in about two days. Kiba you will be out front with Akamaru. You two can sniff out any traps that we might come along during this trip." Kiba nodded, remembering the last time he had been chosen as the point man for a single file formation, and promising to do a much better job this time around. "Naruto, you are behind him, and Tenten behind Naruto. With Naruto's Kage Bunshin and Tenten's weapons, you two can attack in all directions at once, and are much better suited for the center of the formation." Tenten nodded a little stiffly, but when Naruto placed a hand on her shoulder and sent her that infamous smile of his, she took a deep breath and nodded again, this time far smoother than her previous one. "I shall bring up the rear, simply because there isn't another spot for me in the formation where my abilities will be helpful. I shall mind tag all of you however, that way we can communicate without having to speak or use hand signals. Any questions?"

Tenten, surprisingly, was the only hand to go up. "We're all coming back alive, right?" The fear in her voice was almost too obvious to Ino.

Before Ino could even think about how she would explain that their chance of survival on this mission was far lower than usual, Naruto spoke up. "Of course we are. We are Konoha's best team ever. There isn't another village out there than has anything on us. Trust me. We are all coming back, even if I have to carry all of you on my back, we are all coming back alive." Akamaru let out a high pitched bark, and Naruto turned to him and laughed. "Yes, even you Akamaru."

Tenten didn't even have the will to look depressed, or even nervous. Ino made a slight mental note to thank Naruto for being as supportive as he was. "Ok then. Let's get going." They all placed their masks on their faces and bounded off.

-Outside of Sound Army Border-

Tenten, Kiba, and Naruto crouched down low in a thick set of bushes with an unconscious Ino behind them. As soon as they reached the border, she immediately jumped into an eagle and flew high overhead to see just how they were to approach this.

Unfortunately, this wait had served to resurface some of the nervousness and doubts that Tenten had begun to push back down during the trip there. Kiba, noticing how she was starting to fidget with her scrolls a little too excessively, immediately pulled Naruto over to the side. "I've been with her for most of her time as an Anbu, and I have never, ever seen her this nervous before. You really think it was a good idea to bring her along for this?"

Naruto looked back at Tenten and sighed. "Yeah. She is a part of this team. Her being here will only help her, as well as us. Trust me on this; just wait until everything gets started. Once she gets her first kill in, everything will fall into place."

Kiba looked directly at Naruto as he said this. They may have been old rivals, but Kiba knew that he could trust Naruto whenever he spoke like this. So if he thought Tenten would be ok, the Tenten would be ok. "Ok. If you say so."

Ino's body began to move slightly, and a little bit later, she was fully up and giving them her notes. "We're in luck. A group of four is patrolling not far from where we are now. One of them uses a gigantic sword, which will help us with getting Akamaru in. We jump them and then put their clothes on, that way we don't waste chakra doing a full henge. Naruto, you think you can get them all without damaging the clothes?"

"No problem."

"Ok, let's go." They bounded off, staying as low as possible in the tall grass.

Once the group of Sound ninjas was in sight, Naruto performed Kage Bunshin, creating four clones and making them henge into various little rodents. Each of his clones picked a target and snuck up behind them, then transformed back to normal and knocking each one out with a hard hit to the neck. A short mind jump and a quick change later, with Akamaru changing into a large sword for Kiba, the continued on the patrol route until their relief arrived. They followed the path back to the main base and entered the gate.

Obviously, Ino had not seen much from what she found inside the memories of the sound ninja she captured, because even she was amazed at what she had seen. The entire base was literally crawling with ninjas, all of them easily Jonin level. Ino's stomach suddenly plummeted into her feet, though she was able to hold her composure and not completely blow their cover, though a small thought did enter her mind. If she was feeling this nervous, how was Tenten feeling?

Taking a small glance at her teammate, she wasn't surprised to see that the girl looked like she was struggling to keep her composure as well. Ino had to think fast or else their cover would be blown. "Ok, according to this guys memories, we don't have to be anywhere for a while. Naruto, you take Tenten and walk around for a while, try to help her calm down a little. You seem to be doing that quite well. Me and Kiba will go around and attempt to locate any of the high ranking officials. We will try to eliminate them if we can, but if not I'll contact you and tell you where to meet up. Got it?"

Naruto nodded his head, grabbing Tenten's arm and pulling her off with him. "Come on, Tenten. Let's see if they have any good ramen stands here."

'We are in the heart of enemy territory and yet all he can think of is ramen. How can he be so carefree at a moment like this?" Shaking her head she turned in the opposite direction and started walking, Kiba close behind.

Kiba's tracker training with his sister was being put to the test today. While made slightly harder by the fact that he didn't have a base smell to go off of, His nose was still the best locator that they had. Combined with Ino divulging the location of some pretty important locations from the memories of the ninjas that she had done a little mind digging into, and Kiba had just enough to excavate a few smells that were decidedly different from the overwhelming majority. "Alright, I've got quite a few smells coming from this building that are different from the rest. I think you can take a couple of them out to confuse them, and give me enough of an opening to get in and clean up before anyone notices. Sound good Ino? ……….. Ino?"

Unfortunately, Ino had been left alone to her thoughts which had begun to dig a little deeper into the minds of the ninjas that they had captured and replaced. And to say that what she found was a little bit unnerving would have been an understatement. _"Naruto, where are you and Tenten at?"_

_"We found a halfway decent ramen shop here, but it's not anywhere near as good as Ichiraku's. I'm starting to wonder how these guys haven't gone insane considering how horrible the ramen is here."_

Ino wasn't in the mood for Naruto's expert analysis on another country's ramen. _"Forget about that. Head back to where we broke up. We might be in a bit of trouble here."_

_"Aw, but I just ordered-"_

_"NARUTO, DON'T ARGUE WITH ME RIGHT NOW! JUST GET BACK TO WHERE WE CAME FROM!"_

The utter silence in her head told her that Naruto had gotten the point. "Kiba, we're going." She turned back and started walking. Kiba looked somewhat confused for about 2 seconds, but quickly recognizing that look as one he had seen on his sister many, many times, he quickly fell in line and followed her.

Naruto was, to say the least, slightly irked by the sudden interruption of his meal, though Tenten was looking far better at the moment. "Ok, Ino. I just gave up a good amount of ramen for this, and I paid for all of it. You had better have a good reason."

Ino clenched her fists slightly, but kept a cool head and spoke. "This mission is pointless."

Kiba, Tenten, and Naruto all looked at her confused. Ino sighed heavily and began. "I didn't see it before because it wasn't as obvious in the first guy's mind. But after we got into the base and I had a few moments to myself to review, I began to dig a little deeper into the minds of the guys we are currently replacing. They already know that the strike team was wiped out."

"What? But how? Like you said, we completely wiped out all of the ninjas that invaded Konoha. There's no way they could have known." Surprisingly, Tenten was the first one to speak up about this.

"They were given seven days. 3 days to get there, 1 for the attack, and three days to get back. By the time we had finished them off, four days had already passed, and it took us three days to get here. If the strike team didn't report back within the week, then the entire army will invade Konoha in 3 days."

"All the more reason for us to finish this mission. We take out the leaders and then they will have no choice but to delay their invasion. It's as simple as that." Kiba spoke up this time.

"Not going to work out that well. They are determined. Almost frighteningly so. We take out their leaders, and all that will do is give them 5 or 6 less people to participate in the invasion. And if we get caught, that leaves Konoha without us to help defend it."

Kiba was starting to get agitated at how defeated Ino was starting to sound. "So that's it?! We just turn tail, run home, and wait until they come with their entire freaking army?!"

Before Ino had time to even think of the word, Naruto beat her to an answer. "No." All eyes were now trained on Naruto, though Ino was a bit surprised at how strongly he spoke then. "In situations like this, the simplest answer is the best one. The best thing for us to do is to take them out here."

Ino shook her head. "Were you not listening to what I just said? They are going to attack us whether they have their leaders or not. We need a new strategy."

Naruto laughed. Ino cringed a little, as it sounded a little bit like Gaara's insane laugh. "Who said anything about the leaders? I say we take on their entire army here and now."

Now Ino thought that her partner had truly gone insane. "Are you stupid?? It's only the five of us here, and they have an entire army of ninjas. Do you really think we can survive this? And even if we do, can we make a decent enough dent to even matter in the long run?"

"Yes and yes. We already have the advantage, since they don't even know we are this deep inside their territory. If we hit them hard enough from the get go, we have a great chance at not only surviving this, but taking out their entire army while we are at it."

"I calculated our chances for survival before we left Konoha, and though I won't divulge any numbers, our chances did not look as good as you claim they are."

"Were you basing that on the fact that we were trying not to be seen? 'Cause if you were, then you might want to throw those numbers out of the window. I say we screw all of this sneaking around and hiding in plain sight. Let's just get out there and kick some ass. Kiba I know you are with me on this one."

Kiba began to crack his knuckles. "Now you're talking. I'm ready to rip some organs out."

Naruto then turned his attention to their newest member, who unsurprisingly was starting to withdraw again. "I promised you that we were all going to make it out of this alive. To do that, we are all going to have to give it our all. When we get out there, don't even think about what you are up against. Just focus on fighting your fight. Trust me; it will all come easier after the first step."

Even Kiba was impressed at how much of a pep talker Naruto was, and in no time Tenten's face was set in a determined stare at Naruto. "Ok, I'm ready for this."

He looked back at his first partner, who in turned stared back at him. "It's not a democracy, I know. So as team leader, you have the final say on what we do. Your call, Ino"

Ino looked at the determined faces of her team and sighed heavily. She couldn't remember a time where everyone was so dead set on being against her. Somehow, Naruto had done it again. He had proved her wrong. "Fine, we shall go along with your plan. But I swear, if you break your promise and I end up dying, I'll make sure that I take you with me."

"Gotcha." He turned his back to see the hordes of ninjas just waiting to be killed. "Now then, where should I start?"

Ino had a thought. It was a thought that had been brewing in her mind for a while now, and she saw the perfect chance to bring it to fruition. "Hey Naruto, you think you could do something for me?" She walked up to him and whispered something in his ear. Naruto, immediately recognizing one of his old habits, was more than happy to oblige.

Picking the tallest thing in sight, a nearby building, he jumped on top of it and, shouting at the top of his lungs, addressed the base. "Oiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii, Sound Ninjas!"

Needless to say, every sound ninja within earshot turned their attention to Naruto. Naruto soaked in the moment for a while before ripping his borrowed clothes off. He was now standing in his normal Anbu clothes, sans mask. "My name is Uzumaki Naruto, member of Konohagakure's Anbu," He raised a hand and pointed a finger directly into the middle of the crowd. "And I am going to kick each and every one of your asses."

The wind blew. Crickets chipped. Water slowly dripped from a leaf into a pond. Naruto could hear all of this as it had suddenly become deathly silent within the walls of the base. All of the sound ninjas stared blankly at Naruto, while Naruto maintained his pose, waiting for someone to react. The reaction he got couldn't have been any more perfect, as some random ninja suddenly shouted out, "You and what army?"

Naruto smiled widely at that. "I thought you'd never ask. Tajuu Kage Bunshin no Jutsu."

(Once again, bouncing between P.O.V.s)

It was peaceful for about 10 seconds after Naruto made his announcement. Then the sky filled with a countless number of Kage Bunshin. The sound ninjas, obviously unprepared for such a large scale attack from inside their own base, erupted into a chaos driven mass of humanity. It was kinda like watching an army of ants after someone steps into a big group of them. Half of the army began to panic, not sure exactly what to do, while the other half immediately began fighting back the newly formed Army of Naruto.

His other three partners had taken refuge within a nearby building, removing their disguises and waiting for the worst of it to pass over before they made their move. Ino, currently the only one either not excited or nervous enough to make irrational decisions, began to plan their back up attack out. "Tenten, you stay with either Naruto or Kiba unless you are 100 sure that you will be ok on your own. You two will back up Naruto out there. I'm gonna go ahead and start taking out the top guys. I wasn't exactly made for giant attacks like this." She sighed deeply, ridding herself of any more of her reservations about this insane mission.

"Either we all go back to Konoha alive," Kiba decided to speak up now, though it was obvious that he was itching to sink his claws into someone. "Or we all don't come back."

Ino would have slapped Kiba for saying that in front of Tenten, if it weren't for the fact that she said, "Either way, we have to make sure that none of them survive." Akamaru, obviously happy with Tenten's change of attitude, gave a loud bark of approval.

'……..Well, I suppose I don't have to worry about her anymore.' "Ok then, good luck you two." Ino bounded out of the window, heading straight for the building that she and Kiba found.

"You go ahead and stick with Naruto. Akamaru and I will be ok." Kiba smiled evilly at the hordes of sound ninjas that were getting trounced by the sea of Narutos, some with Kunai embedded in them, some with limbs missing, others with slightly more gruesome deaths. He popped a food pill and gave one to Akamaru as well. "Let's get started with an old favorite. Gijuu Ninpo: Jyuujin Bunshin!" Using one of their oldest moves, Akamaru transformed himself into an exact copy of Kiba. "Let's go, Akamaru. Gatsuga!"

Tenten had already started heading for the mass of human bodies, pulling out a couple of her scrolls while she was at it. "Naruto said we needed to start out big, so here goes." Stopping dead in her tracks and planting two of the scrolls on the ground, she quickly ran through the seals for one of her biggest attacks. "Soushouryu!"(Rising Twin Dragons)

Even as modest as she was about her own abilities, Tenten had to admit that this attack was definitely a sight for sore eyes, and not only because she had apparently gotten the attention of every sound ninja in the general area. Her Konoha teammates had described watching the two smoky dragons rise from the ground as one of the most impressive sights they had ever seen. Secretly, she had become extremely fond of this attack, not just because of how it looked, but how effective it was when it wasn't being completely nullified by someone who could control wind.

She had also made some slight improvements to her attack, now able to summon and fire off her weapons as she rose to the top of her scrolls. The sound ninjas, still a little off guard from Naruto's sudden attack, could only watch as hundreds of weapons rained down upon them, impaling a good number of them. The smart ones were able to jump out of the way of her attacks and prepared to counter attack. Unfortunately, they wouldn't get their chance, as her weapons would dislodge themselves from the corpses of their original targets and then pierce themselves through the vital organs of the surviving ninjas. Tenten smiled as she landed on the ground, twitching her fingers slightly, retracting the weapons by the strings that were connected to them. "He was right." She brought her hands back up to get ready for the second wave of ninjas that wished to rush to their deaths.

-Inside Village Tower-

"Can someone explain to me just why we are currently getting our asses handed to us??" The booming voice of the village military specialist thundered throughout the entire room. He definitely had the build to back up the voice, which was why no one ever questioned him when he was in this sort of mood. "Or better yet, how did they get so deep into our territory in the first place??"

"W-we are not sure, sir. None of the patrol groups or any of the wall guards ever reported seeing anything unusual. We know that they didn't henge into any of the patrol groups because all of them checked in when they were supposed to. There is no other possible way for them to have entered the base without us knowing."

"Well that helps me out a lot! I ask you how they got in and you tell me all the ways they couldn't have gotten in! Get me someone competent here!"

"Now, now Hanzo, calm down a little. We can worry about how they got in later, and focus on what we are going to do to kill the invaders right now." Mukitsuchi Kengu was the picture businessman, the only one that Orochimaru trusted to truly carry on his legacy when he was gone. Not the physical part of it of course, but he could advance his vision if he failed.

"Calm down! We are getting invaded and you want me to calm down! Maybe you should be getting a little bit more involved in this sudden crisis!"

Ino just had to giggle slightly from her concealed spot in the rafters of the building. Sure, she had bore witness to the arguments that were commonplace in the Hokage tower between Tsunade and Shizune, or even between Tsunade and the elders, but she had never seen two people as disagreeable as these two. Even though it didn't loom it, Kengu was definitely holding himself back, obviously and rightfully believing that someone needed to keep a cool head in there. "It's really too bad. I bet he would make an excellent shogi partner for Shika. Well, win some, lose some." She stood up and sighed. It did kinda bother her that she had learned this from Sakura before their more violent falling out, but given the circumstances she didn't really have too much choice but to bear it for the duration. Besides, it was a pretty sweet attack.

Reaching into her item pouch, she pulled out a few small pots and tossed them into the air in front of her, keeping them in a straight line. Then she pulled out and threw a kunai right at all three of them, then moved into a more concealed place,

Due to the argument, no one noticed the sound of the pots breaking above them, so no one knew what to expect when they saw what appeared to be a flower petal come fluttering down. Hanzo, obviously not in a good mood as it was, wasn't very amused when he noticed this, and only became even more irritated when even more of them floated down, littering his vision. "Now, what the hell is this?? Who is the nancy-assed prick that set this up?"

"I think you mean nancy-assed bitch." Ino spoke quietly from her hiding spot, though she still maintained a good sight line on the collected group of leaders and military heads and other important figures. "And don't take everything for what it seems. Remember: Even the prettiest rose has its thorns." She smiled slightly before tossing a kunai with an ignited explosive note on it. "A Thousand Floral Burial." She said this last piece as she disappeared from her spot, which was right before the explosive note she threw ignited, causing the flower petal shaped explosive notes, which had filled the entire room, to explode as well.

Ino stood on the steps of the building that she had just left, facing the mass of ninjas that rushed into the fray that Naruto, Kiba, and Tenten had made. "Wow, now that's impressive." She turned back to where the building had once stood. "They didn't even notice." She turned back and decided to join in the fun.

-One Hour Later-

The battle had shifted direction. For the better part of the first half hour, Naruto, Kiba, Ino, and Tenten had completely dominated the army, using a few decently thought out combinations. Naruto and Tenten had even revised one of Naruto's oldest combinations.

The sound ninjas had at their disposal a heavy set, heavily armored ninja. He had begun to push them back with his supposedly completely impenetrable armor. Although he only wore it on his front half, he still move impressively fast for his size, making attacks from behind impossible as well. Even when he compressed his chakra to its smallest, Naruto couldn't even penetrate it with his Rasenbomb. Because of the heavy ninja traffic, Ino wasn't able to concentrate long enough to completely one of her attacks, and Kiba was having as much luck as Naruto. Tenten, however, was the one that had come up with a plan, remembering one of the stories that Naruto had told her.

Kiba and Ino started to step up their attack on the other ninja's to give Naruto and Tenten enough time to finish the big guy. Naruto started off by charging in with a regular Rasengan, though when he contacted the guy's armor, he didn't not immediately stop, instead continuing to press it into the armor, causing it to glow a bright red. The big ninja started to laugh, almost as if he were having fun. "Please, you can attempt to go as long as you can, and you still won't break through my armor." He raised a gigantic fist above Naruto's head and brought it down hard. This would have crushed Naruto it was really Naruto, evident by the audible pop that signified the disappearance of a Kage Bunshin. "Hmm, just a fake, huh?"

Tenten had already begun her part, activating a simple Suiton jutsu that she had picked, firing it directly at his armor and causing it to quickly revert back to its original color. After that, she started to do what she did best; throwing weapons. Taking a handful of kunai, she threw them one at a time at him, completely unaffected by how easily they were bouncing off of his armor. Once she had fired off ten of them, she launched two in the sky. Then she launched another two, which flew right past him on either side of his head. He began to laugh once again, ready to belittle her for her useless weapons, when he caught her smile. "What do you find so funny?"

"Baka, you don't know me. I never miss without a reason." This was followed by two loud pops, with two voices yelling out "U…." Two Narutos came from behind him, executing a sliding kick that took his legs out from under him. While he was in mid air, the kunai that had fallen in to place under him transformed in to Naruto clones as well. "Zu, Ma, Ki……" Each syllable was followed by a kick from 3, 3, and 4 clones respectably, causing him to fly up into the air, where the last two remaining kunai , which also transformed into Naruto clones, were making their decent. One of the clones was gripping the other's arm, while the other was currently holding a bright blue swirling ball. The first clone reared back and hurled the other one straight down towards the armored ninja. "Naruto Rendan Mk 2!" As he was falling towards the ninja, he thrust the ball straight into the part on his armor that he had his before. "Rasengan!" The armor broke on contact, and Naruto pushed the ball as far in as he could, eventually breaking through the skin and into his chest. And once they hit the ground, Naruto found himself shoulder deep in the ninja.

Tenten, to say the least, was excited about her and Naruto's seemingly seamless teamwork. She had gotten the idea from hearing about Naruto's fight with Momochi Zabuza, and figured that if they could get past his armor then the rest would be cake. Thankfully, the friction that the Rasengan made from rubbing against his armor caused enough heat to crack the armor if it was quickly cooled.

After that, it had started to wind down. The sound ninja's numbers had thinned considerably, but Kida, Ino, and Tenten were almost on their last legs and the last remaining ninjas were elites. Naruto realized that he was going to have to get a little desperate if he wanted to survive this. "Kiba, how many Gatsugas do you and Akamaru have left in you?"

"Not enough to last us the rest of this fight. Maybe 5 or 6 more."

"That's good enough. I want you to clear a path all the way out of the village. You do not stop spinning until you are out. Ino, Tenten, you two follow him out. I can take the rest of them myself."

Obviously, none of his teammates were happy with his newest plan, and Ino was the one that voiced this opinion. "Ok, I thought you were crazy when you said we should take on the entire army, but now I'm sure of it. You are psycho! There is no way we are leaving you here alone! Either we all go or none of us go!"

"That's why I'm telling you to go!" Ino mentally snapped back, completely unprepared for his anger to surge that way. "I can't protect all of you if you run out of energy while you are here! Besides, for what I am about to do, I'm gonna need you all to get as far away as you can."

Kiba and Tenten were obviously confused, but Ino was sure that she knew what he meant right off the bat. "Kiba, do it!" Kiba, obviously not willing to argue, got together with Akamaru and started their Gatsuga attack, tearing through any ninjas in his path. Just as Naruto told him, he didn't stop until he reached the giant wall, Ino and Tenten right behind him. Ino looked back for a second and sent a small mental message back to him. _"Don't do anything stupid."_

Once he was satisfied with their distance, he closed his eyes and began to concentrate. _"Oi, Kyuubi."_

_**"Nani? Is it time yet? I've been getting bored in here."**_

_"You should consider yourself lucky that I am giving you this chance."_

_**"Hmm, it doesn't matter to me. Now how many should we use this time?"**_

_"I think three should do here."_

_**"Very well, brat."**_

Naruto smiled slightly as he began to focus on bringing the Kyuubi's chakra up to the surface. Almost immediately the red chakra began to take a faintly physical form around Naruto, also forming fox ears on his head, paws on his hands and feet, and three tails. Naruto himself looked a lot more vicious than her had a few minutes ago. His eyes had taken a deep red color, and his canines had extended greatly. His voice sounded as if it were a combination of his and the Kyuubi's voices. "Who dies first?"

-Next Morning-

Kiba and Akamaru had already stopped concentrating their chakra to their noses so that the thick smell of blood wouldn't cause them to puke. Tenten and Ino were fighting the urge to do the exact same thing.

They had returned to the battle field at dawn, when the sounds of combat had disappeared from the air for a while, and once Kiba and Akamaru had recovered enough energy to walk. What they had found was enough to cause even the most stone cold killer's stomach to consider ridding itself of its last meal.

The ground was coated in a light shade of red, the blood already absorbed into the ground, which was littered with the body parts of the ninjas that had once inhabited this place. Both Kiba and Tenten were shocked at the scene before them. Not because of the scene itself, but because at the time the only thought that went through their mind was, 'Naruto did _this?_'

Ino, who had already bore witness to such scenes, was more concerned with the whereabouts of her partner, but didn't have to worry long when she spotted him sitting under a tree, sound asleep. Ino directed the other two towards him and together they walked over to him. Ino kneeled down and stared directly into his face. "He really did it. He kept his promise."

Tenten did the only thing that she could think to do at the time. She bowed deeply before him. "Thank you again Naruto."

Kiba's concerns were a bit more practical and personal. "You asshole. You were supposed to carry all of us back."

-End-

Ok first off, sorry for the long wait. This was a special project for me and I wanted to make sure that it was good enough to post. Of course, that will be decided by what you all so please, review. Good or bad, I don't care.

On another note, for those of you who read my One Piece story "Vivi Returns"(specifically you, Mr. Thumbsup), I am planning on redoing the whole story. Same basic story, just making the chapters longer, combining a few of them, and maybe adding some things that I feel needed to be in there. Keep a look out.

I will not be abandoning this story though, so keep an eye on Naruto as well.

As always R&R&have a nice day.


	12. Aftermath

-Chapter 12 Aftermath-

-Chapter 12 Aftermath-

The six months that had followed the destruction of Akatsuki and the return of the last Uchiha was suppose to be the end of any and all serious threats towards the Five Countries. However, with the recent Sound Army attack, Konoha had been put on high alert once again. Messenger hawks were being sent to any and all of Konoha's allies, while runners were heading into the other ninja villages in the hopes of forging new alliances. Tsunade wouldn't openly admit it in the hopes of keeping her strong, steady image for the rest of the village, but she was secretly hoping that Naruto's group pulled through. They would need all of the time in the world that they could muster in order to prepare for this new enemy. Then she would shake her head and purge that particular thought. He would pull through. He always did.

Most of the village was aware of her connection with the blonde haired ninja, and were a bit surprised by her decision to send him on this seemingly suicide mission. After all, even the stealthiest of ninjas would find it almost impossible to take out just one or two people while they were surrounded by hundreds of other ninjas. Even Kakashi felt that it was an unfair expectation of the boy. However, Tsunade had seen the boy survive far more hopeless missions. She had no doubt that he would prove everyone wrong once again.

And he did, in such a way that she actually allowed a forbidden thought to pass through her mind. 'I'm getting too old for this.'

The Godaime Hokage sat in her chair, elbows planted on her desk, one fisted hand supporting her head by the bottom of her chin, the other rubbing her head, her eyes closed as she allowed what had just entered her ears to register itself in her head. Opening them back up, her eyes settled on the four ninjas that she had sent on this mission. Naruto, not surprisingly, appeared to be the worse for wear. His uniform was torn and shredded in so many different places, though the accompanying scars, cuts, slashes, and bruises had already healed over. Kiba, Tenten, and Ino all appeared to be pretty even visually. All of their uniforms had a light reddish tint to them, though Tsunade was sure that the blood had not come from them. At least not most of it.

"Shizune!" Almost as soon as she was finished speaking, Shizune was at her side, Tonton in her arms. "Start sending messages to all of the villages we have contacted, telling them to disregard our requests for assistance. I will explain it to you later." Shizune looked a little confused, but nodded nonetheless, and set of to accomplish her task. "I don't care who does it, but someone please explain to me just what compelled you to completely disregard my orders and instead, attempt to completely destroy the entire army by yourselves." Tsunade leaned backing her chair and folded her arms, waiting to hear quite possibly the most interesting story she had ever heard.

Ino, respecting her responsibility as group leader for this mission, spoke up first. "I will go ahead and give my full mission report, since I'm pretty sure it will make far more sense this way." Stepping forward until she was directly in front of the Hokage's desk, Ino took a deep breath and began.

"When we got to the border of the Sound territory, the first thing we did was eliminate and impersonate a group of sound ninjas. I jumped into their minds in order to learn everything we needed to know in order to make it seem like nothing was wrong. After our patrol, we entered the base and split into two groups. Naruto and Tenten would walk around for a while to allow Tenten enough time to calm down while Kiba and I would begin our search for our original mission targets. Unfortunately, while I was digging through the memories of the ninjas we were impersonating, I found something out. Something that would directly influence our decision to alter the mission. The strike team that attacked us during the Chuunin exams was given a seven day window. If they did not return to the base by the end of the seventh day, then the entire army was set to invade Konoha within three days. By the time we reached the base, it was the afternoon of the seventh day. Worse, even if we would have taken out their leaders, it wouldn't have mattered. They would have still stuck to their schedule and attacked us.

"At this point, I was contemplating what our next move would be, when Naruto suggested that we simply take out the army right then and there. Of course, I immediately considered that to be the most insane idea to have ever come out of his head. There were only five of us, and who knows how many of them. He rationalized that we had a decent chance of not only surviving, but actually winning since we were already deep inside of their territory. All we had to do was hit them as hard as we could right from the get go. Both Tenten and Kiba were with him, but he left the choice to me. I would relent, allowing him to start it out. We would either take out the army, or do enough damage that the rest of you would stand a chance against them.

"The battle was, to put it in the bluntest of terms, bloody. Naruto's original assumption was correct, as they were in near complete disarray by our initial attack. He, Kiba and Tenten attacked the main forces while I went ahead and took out the leaders, after which I rejoined the attack. I still can't believe it myself, but after nearly half a day of battle, we had won, completely obliterating the entire army."

Ino finished her report and stepped back into line with the rest of her team while Tsunade bounced everything around in her head. "I see." She heaved a sigh of what appeared to be relief, and stood up. "Normally, your actions wouldn't necessarily be encouraged. I gave you a specific mission with specific objectives, and you were only supposed to follow through with those orders. The reason being that I didn't wish to put you in any more danger than I had already put you in. However, given the situation and the outcome, I will overlook this. You three have performed far beyond my expectations, and I am proud of all of you. I will call you back here for details about the mission later. For now, I am giving you all a week off of duty. Get some rest."

All of them relaxed immediately and thanked her for her kindness. While the others went ahead and left, ready to enjoy their week off, Ino hung back for a second. "Tsunade-sama, how is my sister doing?"

"Oh, Inoria? She bounced back almost immediately. I told her to take it easy for a few days, and she interpreted that as limiting herself to only one mission a day. She's about the most stubborn ninja I have ever met, and the fact that she directs all of it towards advancing herself as a ninja is something of a blessing and a curse."

'Better make sure she doesn't completely burn herself out.' Ino made a small mental note to herself. "Sounds like her, alright. Well, thank you Tsunade-sama, that's all I wanted to know. I'll see you in a week." She bowed to the Hokage before leaving the room.

-One Week Later-

"While I am somewhat surprised that you were able to resolve this incident on your own, could you have at least told me that you were planning on doing that?"

Naruto had to admit, resuming his original training regimen with the Kazekage was definitely a welcome relief, especially after the month long thrashing he had received from him during the Chuunin exams. Not to say that he didn't really appreciate the thrashing, since his durability had increased tremendously because of it. Even if Gaara was able to land a hit on him, Naruto shook it off easily. "Hey, it's not like I intended on doing it from the get go."

"……………"

"Ok, ok, so maybe I considered it a possibility, but it wasn't like it was my call. Ino was group leader. The only reason she went along with doing it in the first place was because we didn't really have too much choice. I doubt she would have accepted it if we did."

"Which is why you should have told me. As Kazekage, my decision would have overwritten her authority as leader."

Naruto dodged a couple of Suna Shrunken and stuck himself to a tree. "Isn't that just a tad bit irresponsible of you? After all, considering all of the things that needed to be done back here, we can't just have the Kazekage running off and attempting to kill off whole entire armies just because he wants to."

"On the contrary, the fact that the Kazekage is going off and killing a potential threat to the world is exactly why no one would question it. After all, do you really think the Kage of a village would do something unless he had a really good reason?" He brought up a wall of sand to block the kunai that Naruto had launched.

"Just because you tell everyone you have a good reason, doesn't mean that is the reason. Now you are lying to everyone. What's next? You gonna start drinking, gambling, and maybe even peeking in on the girls in the hot springs? In some ways, having Shukaku taken from you has actually made you even worse than the Hokage."

Once again, Naruto suddenly found himself engulfed inside of Gaara's Sabaku Kyuu, and once again, he had been brought forward until he was face to face with his captor. Only this time, the Godaime Kazekage had his smile on his face. "Maybe, maybe not. However-" Unfortunately, whatever point he had been ready to make wouldn't be made. His nonexistent eyebrows skyrocketed as his opponent popped out of existence.

"Sorry, Gaara, but you're gonna have to try something else from now on." Naruto, now positioned behind Gaara with a kunai held up to his neck, laughed lightly at his sudden advantageous position.

"Not bad, Naruto. Not bad." Naruto didn't pay any mind to the calm demeanor of the Kazekage, figuring that it was just Gaara's personality. Then the Kazekage dissolved into a pile of sand. "Not good enough, but not bad." Naruto cringed when Gaara's voice entered his ears from behind him, sand slowly wrapping around his legs.

'Crap, I planted a Kage Bunshin when he made that sand wall so I could catch him off guard. He must have done the same thing with his Suna Bunshin. "You're an asshole."

"And you're a virgin. Tell me something I don't know." Naruto was about to come up with something, and pray that Gaara didn't make him pay for it, when another voice interjected itself in their conversation. One that Naruto was extremely glad to hear at the moment, considering his current situation. "Oi, Kazekage-sama. Try not to kill him just yet. I need him for something right now."

Gaara looked up at Ino for a while before releasing Naruto. "Don't worry, I wasn't planning on killing him just yet, though I'm sure that if you hadn't picked this moment to intervene, his mouth probably would have caused me to change my mind. "

Needless to say, Naruto got as far away from Gaara as he could. "What's up, Ino? We got a mission now?"

"Nope, but we are going to see the Hokage right now, so let's get going."

Minutes later, Naruto and Ino stood inside of a somewhat large room, with a big crescent table on one end of it. Though the people who sat at that table immediately caught Naruto's attention. In the middle of it sat the Hokage, and in the seats to her right and left sat the village council elders. Nervous probably wouldn't even to begin just what Naruto was feeling right now.

"Why is he here? He has absolutely nothing to do with this." The elder to Tsunade's left spoke up immediately.

Ino obviously knew that the reason he gave wasn't his true reason for his disapproval of Naruto's presence, but pushed aside her initial reaction in favor of professionalism. "On the contrary, he has a lot to do with this. After all, his influence was what the reason that this is taking place. I just thought he should be here to see how his influence has affected the growth of a fine ninja. I don't see any problem with that, do you?"

He said nothing else after that.

Nervousness now gave way to confusion. "Uh, Ino, what's going on here?"

However, Naruto's question would go unanswered by Ino when a small knock sounded from the double doors. Tsunade called for whoever it was to enter, and Naruto turned to see Yamanaka Inoria enter the room. "Ok, now that everyone is here, take your positions."

Ino dragged Naruto off to the side and stood at attention with Naruto quickly mimicking her, while Inoria moved to the center of the room, facing the Hokage and standing at attention as well. The Godaime stared at the girl for a little while before she began.

"Yamanaka Inoria, You have proven yourself to be an exemplary ninja since your days in the academy, graduating at the top of your class. Even though you were born into a clan that had not been very well known for their taijutsu, you worked your way passed that and became one of the most proficient taijutsu users outside of Rock Lee and Maito Gai. You also proved your proficiency with a very impressive showing during the Chuunin exams, defeating two of your opponents and overpowering a ninja that was far more proficient in taijutsu than you were while using a minimal amount of Ninjutsu.

"Nara Shikamaru, your Jounins sensei, has also highly touted your leadership abilities, citing your performance during various D and C class missions for reference. In his exact words, 'She is as loud, annoying, and troublesome as any female Yamanaka I have met, but she is also far more reliable than I was when I was her age. Had she been the one to lead the initial Sasuke Retrieval mission, there is no doubt in my mind that she would have dragged Sasuke back by his hair, yelling at him the whole way.'

"However, the most important factor to look at is your extremely strong will and determination. Even though gender discrimination is a non-factor within the ninja world, female ninjas that can be considered great are few and far between. And being a female Yamanaka is twice as hard in my opinion, since no one will be expecting too much from a Yamanaka on his or her own. You have fought and clawed past both of those barriers and showed the world, along with Rock Lee, that a little hard work and dedication can go a long way.

"Your hard work, dedication, leadership abilities, impressive showing during the exams, and praise from your superiors has brought the council to a unanimous decision." Tsunade stood and motioned for Inoria to step forward, which she did. "Yamanaka Inoria, I am proud to announce that you have been promoted to Chuunin. Congratulations." Tsunade finished her speech by holding out a brand new Chuunin vest.

Naruto, to say the least, was completely ecstatic. He could just barely contain the yell that he would normally use in times like this. One question did make it to his mind as well. If he was feeling this way, how was Inoria feeling? Her rock steady self control was probably the only reason she wasn't reaction how he knew she would at a time like this.

"As a Chuunin, you will be given a lot more responsibility and be expected to do a lot more, on and off duty, but I doubt that you will have any troubles doing any of these things. You have proven yourself to be a capable ninja in the eyes of the council, and I know you will strive to show that we made the correct decision in promoting you. Good luck."

Inoria bowed deeply to the council and the Kazekage, turned and walked to the doors, Naruto and Ino following behind. They allowed themselves to get out of the building and into the middle of the street before Inoria and Naruto both jumped into the air, punching the sky, and yelling at the top of their lungs, "YATTA!"

Under normal circumstances, this would have sparked some sort of negative reaction from Ino, who thought that such actions in public places were not becoming of ninjas of their distinction. However, considering that these were exactly normal circumstances, she felt that they deserved to celebrate as such. "Congrats, Inoria." Still, that didn't mean that she couldn't maintain her own professional appearance.

"This is so awesome! Now I can finally do some real missions! I might even get to actually kill someone this time! Naruto-nii-san, Ino-onee-chan, we have to start training again! I have to get even better now that I am a Chuunin!"

Ino should have known that her sister would have been as hyped as ever to be Chuunin, but decided to tone her younger sister down just a bit. "Hang on for a moment. You have plenty of time to get in as much training as you want. Right now, why don't you take a break for a few days, recharge yourself a bit? After all, if you are going to be a great Chuunin, you need to make sure you are 100. So take a few days and rest, do some work in the flower shop, and I promise that I will get Tsunade-sama to give you a B class mission when you get back."

The wheels inside of Inoria's head were spinning. Naruto could see it in the girls face. "Well, I suppose a few days off won't hurt me that badly. Ok, you got a deal."

Naruto figured that now was a good time to interject himself into this little exchange. "Ok, but for right now, let's get some ramen to celebrate." Ino hesitated for a moment when he started walking towards his favorite ramen shop. She wasn't exactly hot about the idea of eating at the ramen stand once again, especially after eating there five of the last seven days in a row. She was about to see if she could negotiate with Naruto about heading over to the Oasis when he said over his shoulder, "I'm buying." Ino was right next to Naruto with Inoria leading the way, walking to Ichiraku Ramen.

-Five Days Later-

Yamanaka Ino and Inoria stood in the Hokage's office, the latter barely able to contain her excitement. After taking several days off and relaxing a bit, she was now ready to head out on her first B class mission, which Ino had promised would be ready for her.

Though technically, it wasn't exactly her mission.

Inoria had been adamant about having both Naruto and Ino with her when she went out on this mission. Unfortunately, as this was indeed her first mission, she wasn't allowed to take anyone other than her own teammates and sensei. Ino, clever little blonde that she was, found a way around this by volunteering herself for a B class mission. Then she just selected Inoria as her partner for it. Since it was B class and she was Anbu, she wasn't allowed to bring anyone else with her, so Naruto would have to sit this one out, though he made sure he would be right there for her next one.

"Yamanaka Ino, Yamanaka Inoria, I would like to introduce you to Fukuro Yusuke, chief of a small village near the eastern boarder of Fire Country. They aren't a hidden village, so they do not have the luxury of having ninjas to defend them. This has become increasingly problematic because of a neighboring village who is attempting to seize control of his village, hoping to take possession of the agriculturally rich land that Yusuke-san's village currently resides in. Yusuke-san"

"Hai." Yusuke stepped up at that, and Ino noted for a second how, just slightly, he reminded her of Asuma-sensei. Granted he looked about 20 years older than Asuma and apparently didn't smoke as obsessively as he did. "At first, it was purely a political war, and one that we were winning. My village doesn't really have much economically, with their crops pulling about all of the village's income, but the villagers themselves are among the most strong-willed people that I have ever met. We persevered through all of their plots and attempts to break us down and kept on going. Then it became physical.

"Neither of our villages are hidden villages, so neither of us have ninjas to defend us. However, they have a lot of something we really don't have much of. Money. And because they have so much money, they were able to hire the services of missing nins, and it was all downhill for us from then on. They have denied any involvement with these missing nins but the rest of the village and I know the truth of this situation. However, with no concrete evidence to tie them to the nins, we are stuck in sort of a bind."

Tsunade pick up right after that. "Yusuke has made the long journey here to negotiate an alliance with Konoha, trading a small portion of his villages harvest for protection. Unfortunately, his journey and subsequent alliance has reached the ears of his enemies, who will no doubt have their missing nins on standby to try and kill him on his way back. From what I have understood, Yusuke-san is the cornerstone of the village, giving the rest of the village the strong wills that he spoke of. If he were to die, there is no doubt that the rest of the village will fall as well.

"This is where you two come in. You will escort Yusuke-san back to his village. If you are encountered by missing nins, then you will only kill what you must. Detain at least one of them and force them to admit to making a deal with the opposing village. Then, and only then, will we be able to take action against them. Do you understand your mission?"

"Hai!" The Yamanaka duo spoke at the same time, though Inoria spoke decidedly louder than her sister, not able to contain herself anymore than that.

"Then, as soon as Yusuke-san is ready, go ahead and take off. Good luck all of you."

Ino and Inoria bowed to the Hokage before leading Yusuke out of the office and to the front gate. Inoria, while a little disappointed that she was basically given an escort mission, was still as pumped as ever. Though she wasn't actually looking for them, she was still given a great chance to fight some missing nins, as the Hokage basically guaranteed that they would encounter at least one missing nin during this trip.

Ino, however, had a few misgivings about all of this. Not that she was worried about her sister or their companion on this mission. It was more or less just a very bad feeling that she was having. Something didn't feel completely right about this mission, though she kept this to herself for now. This was her sister's time right now, and she didn't want to ruin it just because of a feeling. After checking their gear one last time, they began their journey.

"It is about a day's walk from here to my village, and that includes breaking for the night. Though if you believe it would be safer, I could push all the way to the village, which would probably have us arriving close to the morning the next day," Yusuke spoke from his position behind Inoria, with Ino trailing behind him.

"No, we can sleep. If the missing nins decide to attack then it would be advantageous for us to be fully rested, since it is more likely that they will attack us closer to the village. Inoria and I will take turns keeping watch while you sleep."

Yusuke nodded his head, continuing to walk forward behind Inoria who was still just bursting with anticipation about the possibilities concerning this mission, while Ino continued to think about the feeling that she was getting from this mission.

-Next Day in Konoha-

"Konoha Diasenpu!"

When Gaara told Naruto that he wanted him to bring another ninja to train with, as he felt that he was ready to take on another training partner, he was completely unprepared for the ninja that Naruto had brought.

It probably went without saying that Lee had improved dramatically since his fight with Gaara during the Chuunin exams, but to say how well he improved and to actually witness it first hand were two completely different things. Gaara was able to casually fight Naruto, holding him off easily, and figured that their last fight would still weigh heavily on the green clad ninja, causing him to be a bit more tentative about attempting to fight with him.

He was wrong. Very wrong. Lee came at him at full speed from the get go, not giving the Kazekage a chance to breath. Gaara would have assumed that instead of being reserved he used their fight as motivation in his training sessions, if it weren't for the fact that Lee didn't stop smiling at him while they spared. 'He holds no grudge. He is just excited about this fight. Good."

As it was, Gaara barely avoided the signature kick of his opponent, and attempted to capture him within his sand, but failed as Lee immediately pulled back, taking up his signature taijutsu stance. "Not bad. Your fighting style has actually forced me to put forth a little effort, unlike my other training partner."

Lee attempted to keep a straight face as he looked over to Naruto quickly, who was currently fuming furiously. Gaara knew fully well that Naruto could probably put up more of a challenge if he seriously went at Gaara, and had actually suggested it a few times. Naruto declined, saying that he could give Gaara a decent match without tapping into his prisoner. "It wouldn't be fair to you, since you don't have Shukaku anymore." Gaara had made it through all of their training sessions without even breaking a sweat, leaving Naruto with a sour, and sandy, taste in his mouth.

Lee, on the other hand, moved far faster than Naruto did, so he was able to get past Gaara's sands and inside of Gaara's guard way more than the blonde ever could. Gaara was now extremely glad that he had done his extra taijutsu training back in his village; otherwise he was sure that Lee would have rearranged his face long ago. 'I am really starting to miss my armor of sand.'

Lee had just transferred over to his forward foot and was about to lunge at the Kazekage, who had just fallen back into a defensive stance, when a loud voice suddenly rang throughout the training area. "NARUTO-NII-SAN!"

Almost on cue, Naruto jumped in and approached the blonde haired girl as she bounded her way into the clearing, clearly out of breath. "Whoa, whoa, calm down. Catch your breath for a second." He allowed his brain to start working again and realized that there was something missing from this picture. "Hey, where's Ino? I thought you two were on a mission."

Inoria didn't waste any more time, immediately jumping into Naruto's mind, flooding them with the memories of her mission.

As soon as she returned, Naruto jumped to his feet, his eyes now taking on a slight purple tint, and a very thin sheet of red chakra surrounding him. "Inoria, head to the Hokage's Tower and let her know what's going on." He started walking out of the training area. Neither Gaara nor Lee said anything, allowing Inoria to brave venturing into Naruto's current mood. "What are you going to do?"

"I'm going to save Ino." That was all he would say before disappearing into a whirlwind of leaves.

-End-

Yes, another cliffhanger. Sorry if this isn't necessarily as good as it should be, but I am preparing for another big project. And I'm pretty sure that this should make a whole lot of you happy.

All I got for now. R&R&have a nice day


	13. Author's Note

Ok, obviously my latest chapter has succeeded in really ticking quite a few of my readers off, to the point where I have actually gotten more negative reviews for this one chapter than I have for gotten from all of my other stories combined. This has obviously gotten my attention, so I have decided to address this issue real quick.

First off, I would like to thank everyone for their completely honest and unbiased opinions. I was a little worried about how I would react to receive such a mass of criticism, but now that it has happened, I feel as if I have taken it rather well, given the circumstances.

Now for Naruto vs. Gaara. Gaara lost Shukaku just about five years ago according to my story, so he has had a lot of work to catch up on, being the Kazekage. He has completely committed himself towards returning to his original strength, or as close to it as he could. And since he isn't burning most of his chakra out maintaining his armor of sand, I would think that his offensive techniques would take a huge step forward.

In the case of his sparing sessions against Naruto, they both know that if Naruto would actually seriously fight Gaara, Naruto would definitely be more of a challenge towards Gaara, hands down. I believe I explained this particular aspect of Gaara's dominance in story, though I will admit that I didn't explain it as well as I should have. Like I said, Gaara knows that Naruto holds back, but in keeping with his new personality taunts him every time they spar, actually hoping that one day, Naruto will indeed go all out on him. Naruto, on the other hand, has to constantly hold back to keep himself from seriously harming his friend. If you remember the fight between Ino and Sakura, Ino had to force herself to keep from killing Sakura. In my mind, being trained to kill as much as the Anbu are required to would start to become natural for a ninja, to the point where, if they were in a particularly serious sparing session, they probably wouldn't think twice about using some of their more damaging techniques. Naruto has already realized this, and is holding himself off later.

As for citing their fight during the Chuunin exams, there is a key difference between then and now. Gaara is actually thinking clearly right now, planning ahead, and baiting Naruto into his attacks instead of using his brute strength alone. Remember, it isn't usually the stronger of the two combatants that usually wins, but the smartest. Of course, this isn't to say that Naruto is still the same little kid that he was 8 years ago, but it is doubtful that he will ever be on a level intellectual paying field as Gaara.

Now, I do understand that many of you will probably still believe that he should be allowed to put up more of a fight, and I accept it. However, I do hope that this quells any further arguments about Naruto's strength. I have not, I repeat, have not made Naruto weaker, after all, he was able to take out a good brunt of the Sound Army before he tapped into the Kyuubi's chakra. I have just given him a reason to hold back a decent portion of his own strength.

Once again, thank you for your criticism.

David Jaxon


	14. Ino's Stand

-Chapter 13 Ino's Stand–

"Awww, don't tell me that's your village, Yusuke-san. We haven't even run into any other ninjas."

It was true. As Yusuke had told them after they began the journey, it was a little past midday by the time they reached the village. And within the day that they had traveled from Konoha, they had not even seen another person, much less another ninja. Not even when they set up camp for the night in the woods, all was silent.

While Inoria became more and more irritated with the lack of action, Ino was becoming more and more serious as they neared the village. Inoria, noticing how quiet her sister was being, decided to see just what was up. "Hey, Ino-onee-san, what's up? You haven't said a word since we started going again. I know that you have to be focused in case we are attacked but-"

"That's just it Inoria." Her face didn't change at all, her pace didn't change any. It was as if the only thing that moved differently was her mouth. "We haven't been attacked at all. If this other village was serious about wanting to take Yusuke-san out, then we should have been attacked a long time ago, Hell, think about it. How did he get all the way to Konoha if they knew he would be heading there in the first place?" Ino finally shook her head roughly. "I don't know, maybe it's just me being paranoid and overanalyzing things a bit. Being Anbu as long as I have will probably do that to someone. Still, keep your eyes open. I have had a very bad feeling about this mission since we set off from Konoha."

"Ahh, you're just a little worried because I'm here. I'd be willing to bet that if I wasn't here, you would feel much better about this mission. Relax a little bit. Loosen up, sis. Like you said, you are Anbu. Not like the ninjas have a chance at taking us out if they try and ambush."

Ino looked back down at her little sister, and her face softened up a little bit. "Ok, but only because you say so. This is still technically your mission after all. Now get back and watch Yusuke-san. We still got a ways to go."

It wouldn't matter, since all was still quiet when they got to the village. So quiet in fact, that Ino allowed her seriousness to return. This time it wasn't because of the lack of enemies. It was the lack of villagers. Yes, the village itself looked just like Yusuke had described it; however it was missing the villagers that Yusuke had described. "Yusuke-san, what is going on here? Why aren't there any people here?"

"The recent attacks have caused most all of my villagers to remain in their homes all day, unless I am here. Do not worry. Once they realize that I am back, they should start filling the streets once again."

While Ino nodded her head, Inoria looked at Yusuke, studying him for a moment. Even though she told Ino that maybe she was just being a little bit too paranoid about this mission, her sisters earlier worries had rubbed off on her. One fact continued to replay itself in her head. "How did he get all the way to Konoha if they knew he was heading there in the first place?" After a while of trying to work it out in her head, she decided to bring it up. "Hey Yusuke-san, did you walk all the way to Konoha from her by yourself?"

"Why yes little one, I did." Yusuke turned his attention to Inoria with a small smile on his face.

It was at this point that Ino spoke up. "How did you make it there? I mean, if this rival village really knew that you were coming, they should have attacked you then right?"

"True, however there is a shortcut through the forest that only I know about. It leads through the back of the village and only takes me a few hours if I go nonstop. I didn't take you back through it because it would be extremely hard for you to fight back an ambush, especially if you are trying to protect me."

"I see." Even with his reassurance, Ino only seemed to become even tenser.

_"Hey, onee-san? Remember earlier when you said that you had a very bad feeling about this mission? Well I'm not sure if it is just a Yamanaka thing or if it just rubbed off on me, but I'm getting that same feeling now"_ Inoria "spoke" to her sister, hoping that her sudden wariness towards Yusuke was picked up on by Ino as well.

_"Yusuke-san isn't telling us everything, but I don't want to risk trying to see what it is."_

That would end up being the right decision, as she was just barely able to move out of the way of an oncoming senbon needle. Inoria automatically fired off a handful of shurikens in the direction of the thrower, but was met with the disappointing sound of her weapons being deflected. Both Yamanaka females quickly jumped back, putting Yusuke between them.

"It is just a little disappointing that we only get to take out one of you, but I suppose it does make our job a little easier now that we can pick you off one at a time." The owner of the voice revealed himself to be a missing nin coming from inside one of the houses, to the surprise of both Ino and Inoria. This surprise would only grow as the doors to each house would open to reveal even more missing nins.

"Forgive me ladies, but I had no choice. They said that they would kill my family if I didn't go along with this plan of theirs." Ino would have been the first one to say that he was lying, if it weren't for the fact that her mind worked logically even in situations such as the one she was currently in. The trap had already been sprung so he really didn't have any reason to be as apologetic as he was being. Besides, she could hear the genuine regret in his voice. "And you didn't tell us back in Konoha because……"

"If I told you, you would come here expecting an ambush, and then they would kill my family either way." He directed his attention to the first missing nin that talked. "Alright Jin, I have done as you asked. Let me be with my family now."

"Oh, of course Yusuke. They are right inside of that house." He pointed to the house he had just exited. Yusuke ran to the open door, calling out the names of his family. When he would reach the door however, he would stop dead in his tracks, though neither Ino nor Inoria could figure out why. Whatever it was, it wouldn't affect him for long, as he would then have three senbon needles pierce the side of his neck, dropping him immediately.

Needless to say, this caught them the ire of the female Konoha ninjas. "What the hell? Didn't you say you were going to let him be with his family?" Inoria was the first one to speak up.

Jin, unaffected by the younger girl's outburst, calmly looked back at her. "What are you yelling about? I kept my promise; he is with the rest of his family." He caught the eyes of Ino and smiled. "Your partner here knows what I'm talking about, don't you?"

Inoria turned her attention to her sister. "Onee-san, what is he talking about?"

"His family is dead."

This, of course, brought about a viciously angry response from Inoria. "YOU BASTARD!!" She was about to jump straight towards Jin, Kunai in hand, when her sister grabbed her shoulder.

"I know how you feel, but don't lose your focus. Look around. He isn't the only bastard here. You wouldn't have made it halfway to him before you would have become a human pin cushion." Obviously, Inoria didn't like what her sister was telling her, but still calmed down and waited for Ino to give the word.

"This is surprising though. This many missing nins working together? What's the occasion?" Ino spoke, never taking her steel glare off of Jin. Inoria made a slight mental note to ask her sister how she could control her emotions this well.

"You are. Word has gotten around the five countries that you and your partner have done some rather incredible things over the last 7 months. Cap it all off with your little stunt with the Sound Army, and all of us decided that we needed to do something about this. So, with the help of Yusuke over there, we decided to see if we could ambush your little group. Like I said earlier though, it is a little bit great that you decided to come one at a time."

Inoria could see the gears turning in her sister's head while he spoke, obviously contemplating just what they were going to do. The really weird part was that she could have repeated everything that he had just said. _"Inoria, listen up and don't argue. I'm going to provide you with a distraction. You are currently facing the rear of the village, where Yusuke-san said the shortcut was. When I tell you to, close your eyes and start running as fast as you can in the direction that you are facing. Head back to Konoha and get help."_

Inoria, completely disregarding what her sister said, fired back. _"No way in hell am I leaving you here by yourself. Do you really think you can hold out long enough for help to get here? Why don't we both just kill them?"_

_"No. Yes, you may be able to take on a couple of missing nins, but not only is this more than just a couple, but they look like they are almost all in the high B lower A class. I can survive long enough for you to bring someone back." _

Inoria didn't answer back. She knew it was pointless.

And after about half a minute….. "Go!" Inoria shut her eyes and took off running, just as a bright flash of light engulfed the area. Inoria didn't stop running until she felt the ground change texture. Then she opened her eyes, and was somewhat surprised that the shortcut that Yusuke spoke of was there. It was a straight, extremely narrow path in the direction of Konoha, with a very steep slope on either side of it. Now she knew what Yusuke meant about defending from an ambush.

Not looking back, she took off full speed down the path towards Konoha.

-Present time, back in Konoha-

Tsunade opened her eyes once the memory that Inoria poured into her head faded, her face taking one a much more serious tone than it was a few minutes ago. "So you came straight here after you got back?"

Inoria stood nervously before the Hokage, Lee and Gaara on either side of her. "No, Hokage-sama. I went to find Naruto-nii-san first. I know it probably wasn't what I was supposed to do, but he was the first person that came to mind. After I showed him what happened he told me to come straight here and tell you. I'm sorry if I made a mistake by not coming to you first."

"No you made the right decision. Saving your sister takes top priority right now. About how long did it take you to get here using the route that you took?"

"Maybe half an hour."

Gaara spoke up next. "Then Naruto will probably be there in about 20 minutes in his frame of mind. Though, if there are as many of them as you say there are, someone's going to have to be there to help Ino on the spot."

Almost as if on cue, her office door opened. "Tsunade-sama, were checking in."

Tsunade turned to them. "Not a moment too soon either. I have a task for you two. There is no time to explain it now, so Inoria will fill you in while she takes you there. "

Inoria shot an evil glare at the duo. Lee's face took on a sort of worried expression.

Gaara assumed his now trademark smile. "I think I shall come as well. This could get really interesting."

-Shortcut to village-

Naruto allowed the vision that Inoria fed into his brain to replay itself a few times during his trip to the village, remembering each and every detail of the ninja's that had ambushed Ino. Though there was no real tactical relevance to this. No, he just wanted to make sure he killed the right ninja's the right way. Jin, for example, was definitely going to be met with a very violent, very painful death, assuming that Ino didn't take him out first. "Hang in there Ino. I'm almost there."

There is a term called sexual frustration. Being brought close to the end, and yet leaving unfulfilled. Maybe some sort of natural disaster or another ninja interrupting. Let it be known that the only reason Naruto knows of such things is because of Ino's ranting on about some of the other female ninja's personal lives.

The moment Naruto bore witness to the scene at the village, and fully comprehended it, he suddenly experienced a phenomenon called homicidal frustration.

The scene itself wasn't all that new to Naruto. The village itself was in ruin. While most of the houses closer to where he emerged seemed to still be intact, they only became worse and worse as he moved along the village. Most of them only had stray ninja tools stuck to them; others had doors or window broken off. However, once he reached the center of the town, it became apparent that this was where most of the battle took place, and where the battle had ended.

The most obvious indication was the fact that there was a gigantic black circle smack dab in the center, and with the stray flames on the ground and some of the buildings it was apparent that there was an explosion. A big one. 'Ino must have done this. Doubt they would have wasted such a big explosion on just one person.'

Next were the various bodies scattered around the ground. At least, some of them were bodies. Most of them were nearly completely burnt, suggesting that they had been caught in the explosion as well, while the rest were just half bodies, close enough to the explosion to have some of their bodies comp0letely blown off.

However, there was one body that Naruto was interested in, and not only did he find this one completely intact, it was moving. Very slightly, but still moving.

Rushing over to it, Naruto kneeled down next to the extremely ravaged body of Ino. Cuts, bruises, punctures, you name it, and she had it. Even her hair was completely soaked in blood, though Naruto was absolutely sure it wasn't hers. She wouldn't even be alive right now if Ino had lost that much blood. "Ino, it's me. You still alive?" In retrospect, it was probably a stupid question to ask, but then again it wasn't as if Naruto had been using his right mind at the time.

"B-baka." Ino's voice was far too weak and silent for it to belong to the woman that Naruto had gotten to know. "I told my sister………… to go get help……… and she sends you."

"What happened? How the hell did this happen?"

"Bet-better to show you…………. than tell you."

Naruto immediately began to refuse. "No way, Ino. You body looks like its on fumes right now. If you leave it now, you might not have a living body to come back to."

"Naruto…….. be intelligent for a………second. Would I really…………. put myself at risk if I………… thought I wasn't going to make it? Now……….shut up and pay attention……….for once." And at that, she began to fill Naruto's mind with her memories.

-Earlier that day-

"Go!" Thankful that Shikamaru had bestowed upon her a little more than just the secrets behind his family jutsu to help her out with hers, she tossed up the small ball, then ducked and clenched her eyes shut just as it exploded into a flash of bright light.

Once it had died down a little bit she was on the move immediately, heading in the same direction that Inoria had gone. She wanted to make sure that Inoria wasn't followed out of the village. Running into another missing nin while she was running, she reacted fast, jumping up and placing a foot on either side of his head so that they looked like an upside down L, and then using all the force she could muster, twisted her body to the right, thus snapping his neck completely in two, taking him off of his feet, and then land on his head. The light had since completely gone away And Ino could see that each and every set of eyes was trained on her. 'So it really is me they want.' "Ok, boys and girls, I'm right here, so come and get it."

It would begin with a wave of thrown ninja tools. Each and every one of them rocketed towards Ino, who seemed to be frozen in place. A few seconds later, Ino was riddled with various weapons, and probably would have died right then and there if it weren't for the fact that Ino suddenly turned into a large log.

In the trees surrounding the village, Ino hid and planned her next move. 'Ok, so obviously trying to fight them head up is going to be impossible. At least for me it is. This would be so much easier if I was one of the others. At least Naruto could overwhelm them with sheer numbers. Tenten could out-weapon them any day of the week. Kiba and Akamaru, well let's just say it wouldn't be a very pleasant scene afterwards. I, on the other hand, have to outwit them.'

Looking back into the village, she could easily see that they were prepared for any attack that she could have tried. This, of course, meant that she would have to jump into her partner's bag of tricks and pull some sort of completely outlandish plan of attack out of her ass.

Or so she thought. Almost as quickly as she had thought about her partner, an idea hit her. She had just remembered a move that her mother had told her was one of her late aunt's favorite jutsus, passed on to her from her mother. She had understood early in her ninja career that as a Yamanaka, large battles would not be favorable for her, especially if the deck was stacked against her. She was also a very skilled Genjutsu user, and addressing the Yamanaka's weakness to large battles, created the first ever Yamanaka exclusive Genjutsu.

Checking her pouch, she nearly squealed in relief when she pulled out the scroll required to use this move. "Ok, auntie, time to make you proud." Checking back, she caught sight of Jin who was apparently not at all concerned that his target had suddenly disappeared. 'Pity. I kinda wanted to save him for last.' Jumping to the top of the tree she was under she tossed the scroll so that it was directly above them when it made its decent. Once it was just above them, she ran through the seals and spoke the magic words, "Floral Oasis Jutsu."

The scroll exploded, and from it came thousands of different flower petals, each one containing its own scent. This was the key to the whole jutsu. Genjutsu are supposed to affect the body by entering through one of the five senses, the most popular of these senses being the eyes. There were, however, the Sound ninjas who used their opponent's sense of hearing to do the same. And now, there were the Yamanaka's, who could capture their opponents inside of a Genjutsu by their sense of smell. In a sense, it only seemed natural.

Her aunt described the opponent's visual of this as being inside of a gigantic field of flowers and, if they were deep enough in it, have only one intention; Stopping to admire them. It seemed kind of a silly thing to try and catch a cold blooded killer in, but considering that the missing nins were acting as if they were in such a flower field, she couldn't exactly argue with her aunts reasoning.

Pulling out yet another scroll, she tossed that out as well, though when this one would explode, it would turn into thousands of flower petal shaped pieces of paper. 'Not much of a change, but at least it isn't completely like Sakura's attack now.' Once they were low enough, she took the kunai with the ignited explosive tag on it and tossed it down as well. 'Have a nice day.'

And in similar fashion to the attack on the sound army's base, the tag exploded, triggering the smaller tags and creating a very large explosion in the center of the village, completely wiping out the ninjas.

Ino jumped down from her perch atop the tree once the damage had been done, and stood right in the center of town, surveying the damage. "Well, that was easier than expected. Didn't think that they would be that-" And before she could finish her thought, she would be impaled by four kunai in her back. Thankfully, they didn't go very deep or else she wouldn't have been able to keep herself from falling completely down, instead going to a knee.

Turning her head around, she found herself staring into the eyes of four of the missing nins, Jin among them. "I will admit that your little genjutsu was a bit surprising since it was a scented one, but in the end a genjutsu is still a genjutsu." He turned his gaze to the scattered carcasses of his allies. "I only wish they would have been a little more attentive. Good help is so hard to find these days."

Ino, still keeping her eyes on Jin, stood back up while pulling the kunai from her back. "Don't worry; you won't have to worry about finding any kind of help, much less good help, once I'm through with you." Her voice showed no sign of pain or anguish, even though she had just removed four kunai from her back.

"Oh, this cat still has a little fire left huh? Very well, let's just how long you can survive." Even though Jin was the one talking, the other three were the ones that went on the offensive, while Jin remained behind.

Ino quickly reacted, using the kunai she had just dislodged from her body to attack them. They dodged each of them and then moved in for close combat, which Ino was perfectly fine with for now.

Even three against one, Ino was able to keep up with their attacks quite well, thanks largely in part to her mind tag. She knew where each of them were at any given time, and was able to predict their attacks accurately. Occasionally, there were attacks that slipped through the cracks and knocked her off balance, but she recovered nicely from them each time and went back to keeping their attacks at bay.

Eventually, she realized that this was not going to hold up forever. There were three of them, and only one of her. Plus she was injured slightly. She needed to get rid of them. Now.

Knowing that she was taking a huge risk with this one, she pulled out another kunai, with an explosive tag attached to it, took a few dozen steps backwards while keeping her pursuers busy with shurikens, and then fired it off, deliberately hesitating on activation the tag, which began to burn when it was right at the nin out in front. He simply caught it and redirected it towards her.

Ino could only watch in horror as her own weapon, her own plan, exploded in front of her face. Literally.

The nin that had deflected the kunai smiled at the sight and said, "Gotcha."

That was when the smoke would clear up and where Ino would have been sat a burnt log. At the same time, a female voice would say into his ear, "Gotcha." Then Ino would impale the kunai through the back of his neck, killing him instantly.

The other two reacted quickly, throwing a handful of shuriken each. Ino pulled her victim in front of her to block the attacks, and then tossed him aside to attack bogey number two. This time, she decided to go into her own bag of dirty tricks, ducked under his punch, gave him her hardest uppercut even causing him to pop off the ground for about a meter, then caught him with a kick as he was going down, placing the toe of her sandal right between his legs.

With the second guy incapacitated, she turned her attention to the third one, who was now attacking with a kunai in each hand. Even though Ino was keeping up for a while, the initial three on one attack, combined with her two counter attacks, on top of the injuries on her back were causing her to slow down a little bit at a time. Eventually, she began to take more and more cuts, but stayed on her feet.

An idea came to her, but once again, her logical mind got in the way. 'He's already in position for it, so it's not the getting there that's the problem. That Genjutsu and giant bomb took a lot more chakra than I thought. If I use it now, I may not have enough to finish it. Then again, if I don't use it, I won't finish either way.' Saying a quick prayer she parried a strike and jumped back as far a she could, then set up for her attack. Just as her attacker was about to impale her with one of his kunai, she made the window and shouted, "Mind Imitation Jutsu!"

She opened her clenched eyes just a tad, and was relieved to see that her attack had connected not a moment too soon, as the kunai was about a millimeter away from her forehead. Not wasting another second, she made him impale both kunai in to his own head, causing him to fall like a rag doll.

Riding this wave of adrenaline, she turned back to the guy she had "super kicked", who was finally back onto his knees. Running towards him she launched herself at him and delivered a bone crunching roundhouse kick to the side of the head. Literally, as there was an audible crunch as his neck was broken into far more than just two pieces.

Then there was just one. Jin was watching with a seemingly bemused smile on his face. "Very impressive. I must say that I probably wouldn't have believed any of what you had done unless I saw what you just did."

Ino was neither amused nor flattered. "What do you have to smile about then? I just kicked about 30 asses by myself, and yours is next."

"40, actually, though it doesn't really matter at this point. They have all done the job required of them. As you can plainly feel, you have absolutely nothing left. You have more than likely exhausted most of your chakra reserves, you have used up a good portion of your kunai and shuriken, and you are physically spent. I could probably beat you with one arm tied behind my back."

"Just try it." And with that, Ino rushed Jin, completely disregarding the fact that everything that Jin had said was true. Punctuated by the fact that she barely even made it halfway to him before she stumbled. She attempted to refocus on him, but found that she couldn't. "No, no, not now. Just a little longer body, please." But her body wouldn't listen; the loss of blood was starting to get to her.

"And now I have some fun." Jin walked up to her, stopped when he got just a couple of feet from her, and punched her in the gut. Ino immediately doubled over and fell to her knees, clutching her stomach. She wouldn't have much time to rest, as Jin would then grabbed her by her hair and yank her to her feet. Then, keeping her up by her hair, he began repeatedly punching her. Her stomach, her face, nothing was spared. By the time he was down Ino wasn't even holding on to herself anymore, because she was in pain everywhere.

"Oh I have waited for this day. And to think that this is just step one. I get to do this three more times after this."

"What purpose would this serve?" Ino's voice was small, almost a whisper.

"Can you imagine the fame I would get off of this? 'The team that took out an entire army, taken out by one missing nin.' It's a headline that I am looking forward to." Jin smile and once again picked her up by her hair. "And now, my sweet, die." And with one thunderous uppercut, which he jumped with to add more power to it, he sent Ino flying into the air.

For Ino, time would slow to a crawl. It seemed as if she were floating in space as it were. 'So this is it, huh? This is how it all ends for me? Not in some huge battle that will be recorded in the books? Not in my own bed as an old hag? Not even in the arms of……… him? Am I going to die like this?'

All at once, she saw faces. The first face was that of her lazier teammate. 'Shika.'

'Baka, you have any idea how troublesome your death would be? Choji would never let me hear the end of it.'

Then, the faces of her family. "Oto-san, Okaa-san, onee-san.'

Inoria was the only one who spoke. "And then she taught me how to do this. Ino-onee-san is probably the best sister in the world.'

It would be the last one, however, that did it for her. The face of her blonde haired partner appeared, and with it, a mesh of every conversation she could remember them having, ending with her reciting her line from their first night at the Oasis. "Friends, partners, and maybe more, sometime."

"No! I am not dying here!" Her eyes, which had been so blurry from the lost of blood, suddenly refocused again. Time resumed its normal flow, and Ino was moving again, flipping backwards so that she landed on her feet. Jin, who was also just now coming down off of his uppercut, was a bit more than shocked to see Ino back on her feet, so much so that his brain went blank for a while, which was all Ino needed.

Dashing forward and screaming wildly, she started out with a punch to the gut, then immediately went into a back flip kick. As soon as she landed, she sent a pair of roundhouse kicks to his sides, then jumped up and kicked him twice to the face. Once she hit the ground she gave him four stiff punches to the ribs, then four more kicks, one to each of his arms and legs. After that it was a spinning back kick to the gut, then one more roundhouse kick to the head, causing him to stumble backwards. "The new and improved 16 hit combination."Jin finally found his feet and started back at her.

"Fine! No more fooling around. Your life ends here and now!" He charged at her, but it was too late. Ino had already set up for her final move.

Ino jumped forward, landed on her hands, cocked her legs back, and drove them into his chin, sending him flying. Jumping back onto her hands she used whatever chakra she had left to jump up after him in a similar arc. "Now you die!" Flipping her body backwards, she put her ankles on either side of his head, and started flipping backwards with him. After about 10 flips she finally ended it by planting him right on top of his head. "Yamanaka Ino Assassination Technique: Flower Planter."

Ino started walking away from the battle field, but only got about ten steps. She just barely caught the ground starting to come closer to her face when her world went completely dark.

-Present time-

Naruto opened his eyes as the memory fade from his mind, and looked down at Ino, who was starting to come to herself. "Don't worry, you're gonna be ok. Inoria went to the Hokage after she found me so I am sure that help should be close behind me."

"A lot closer than you think, Uzumaki Naruto."

Naruto looked back, and was greeted with a welcome sight. "Gaara, glad to see you came along."

"Naruto, you are starting to become something of a nuisance. That's twice so far that I have had the opportunity to kill a large group of ninja's, and twice that you have taken that away from me."

"Hey, don't look at me. She took them out by herself. But if it pleases you, I will take the blame for it later. Right now, did you bring anyone else along? Someone who can heal?"

It was then that Naruto noticed the others. Lee was there, along with Inoria. And then he spotted them, causing a small glare to come up on his face. "What are they doing here?"

Inoria stepped up. "Sorry, Naruto-nii-san, but they showed up just as we were about to look for someone, so the Hokage sent her."

In his mind, Naruto rationalized that the Hokage did what she thought was the right thing to do, and somewhere down the line, he would probably agree with her. That didn't mean that he had to like the fact that she sent Sakura and Sasuke to help.

-End-

No, ladies and gents, I have not fallen off the fact of this earth. Just ran into a little writer's block is all. I have gotten over it though and I hope to not run into it again.

Well, here is part one of my next big project. Added a little bit of drama into it, just as a bit of an experimental phase. See how I do with it.

That's all I got for now. R&R&have a nice day.


	15. Author Update

Ok just a quick update.

First and foremost, yes I am still here. A few unfortunate circumstances have separated me from my computer, so I was unable to even attempt to write anything. As you can see I have since then gotten myself back on and am currently in the process of editing my next two chapters. So keep an eye open and I'll have them up as soon as possible.

Also, If you would be so kind as to check up on my polls, as I have a new one up. Hopefully this turns out the way I wish it to.

R&R&have a nice day.


	16. Change

-Chapter 14 Change-

. As she stared at the limp form of her first friend, Sakura could not help but think, with more than just a little resentment, that her friend had changed. And in her mind, not for the better.

After their fight during the Chunin Exams, Sakura had begun the task of rebuilding her friendship with Ino, quickly realizing that relationships of any kind, be it love or simple friendship, were similar to glass statues. As easy as they were to build, they were just as hard to break. Sakura, however, was determined to push through whatever hardships she faced while attempting to reconnect with her first friend and Ino had shown an equal amount of willingness. That, combined with their knowledge of how their first friendship had worked out made this process that much easier.

The first sign of change within her friend came as something of a surprise to her. The subject of this deviation was the announcement of Sasuke's defection. Sakura had basically clung to the hope that Sasuke had been tricked in to leaving, or was being forced or blackmailed in some way. She was so sure of herself when she talked this over with Ino, that the very thought of there being any other reason for his departure had not even crossed her mind. Ino's response was a simple scoff, stating in a very unsympathetic voice that she "could not care less whether or not he came back or ended up face down in a river somewhere." Sakura, obviously not happy with how her friend was reacting, was about to go into the reasons why she believed that Sasuke did not leave purposefully, but was cut off when Ino spoke up again. "You were able to catch up with him before he left right? Did he look like he was being forced to leave the village? I'm sorry Sakura, but I'm having a hard time believing that anyone who would actually stop and explain why he was leaving before knocking you out was being forced to leave." Ino must have known that she had hit a soft spot with that one, because she sighed and continued. "Ok, let's forget about that. As soon as he left the village he joined up with 5 other ninjas from the hidden sound village, who then proceeded to help him escape to the hidden sound village by damn near killing 5 other Konoha shinobi. Hell, two of them, including my own teammate, came back hanging on to life by a thread. The other three probably would have died had that Suna team not shown up when they did. And to top all of it off, when your teammate went to try and stop him, he left him for dead and still ended up going. All on his own. So if you want to keep on making excuses for him, then by all means go ahead."

Naturally, this pissed Inner Sakura off to no end, making her will her container to say something back. Unfortunately, Sakura could do nothing more than drop the subject and leave. Ino had made quite a number of valid points, and Sakura had nothing to respond to them with. Thankfully, this little incident would not do anything to damage their steadily rebuilding friendship, as eventually both girls would put it behind them.

It was at the end of their mission to assist the Kazekage in retrieving one of his students that Sakura would see a much bigger change within her friend. Somehow she had gotten wind of her special training with the Godaime, and in a surprisingly humble gesture for Ino, asked her to help her to become a medical ninja, claiming that she, unlike Sakura, was not very reliable in a combat situation. Naturally, Sakura had allowed her to be included in her training, though she did make it a point to rub it in that she was the one in charge here.

Almost three years later another big change would occur inside her friend. However, this one would be caused by a particularly drastic event. The death of her Sensei, Sarutobi Asuma.

For the first few weeks after his death, Sakura didn't even see Ino that much. According to her parents, she had locked herself in her room and refused to come out, even to bathe. Her meals were brought to her room, and there was always a parent present in the house to at least make sure she didn't try to kill herself. Sakura had gone to visit the girl once, and would leave the house not able to believe her eyes. Never, in all the time she had known the girl, had she ever seen here in such a state. Her face was a mess, in particular her eyes, which told Sakura that she had either been crying, not sleeping, or both. She was also starting to look a little anorexic, meaning that although her meals were brought to her, she had not been eating most, if not all of it. The most disturbing thing was her movements, which were closer to a machine's then they were to a humans. It was almost as if Ino's body was still here but whatever was suppose to be in that body wasn't.

A few days after that visit, Sakura had set some ground work for getting Ino out of her room. Unfortunately she was just a day late. When she went, Ino's mother informed her that Ino had left the house. She didn't leave a note and she didn't tell anyone where she was going. Inoichi had gone upstairs with Ino's breakfast, and when he opened the door, she was gone, along with most of her personal effects. A few days after that, Sakura was heading to the training grounds when she found her friend. She looked even better then she had before her sensei's death. Her muscles had returned, and were currently being pushed to their limit thanks to the exercises Ino was doing. When Sakura had approached her, she noticed a far greater change in her; her eyes. She seemed so much more focused and determined than Sakura had ever seen the girl. Even before Asuma's murder, she had never seen her like this. When she asked about why she was pushing herself so hard, Ino replied that she had decided to try and go for Jonin. That way, she could join the Anbu, where she would be in a better position skill wise to avenge her sensei. The only thing that was more surprising than hearing her say that was the fact that within a year she actually did all of that. Once more Ino had changed in a way Sakura had not expected.

For a period of time after this, Sakura and Ino would fall out of contact. While Sakura had begun to actively start searching for Sasuke with Naruto and Sai, Ino had begun her duties as apprentice to the Anbu Torture and Interrogation Division's head, Morino Ibiki, as well as the occasional assassination mission. As such, Sakura wouldn't become aware of the next big change in her first friend until much later on.

Sakura had always considered her second teammate to be a good friend, almost like the brother she never had. He was always there for her when she needed him, never treated her with any sort of malice, and constantly went out of his way to make sure he was happy, even making that promise to bring Sasuke back. While she appreciated these qualities, she would not allow herself to give up on Sasuke, and judging by the way Naruto made his promise to her, Sakura figured he knew that her heart belonged to Sasuke and Sasuke alone.

The day of the 20th Annual Konoha Festival would prove that she had been wrong in that assumption.

As one of the few people of their generation to know of the Kyuubi's true whereabouts, she had been initially worried about her former teammate when she had seen him at the festival. She had attempted to get him to come a few times in the past, but each time he declined, saying that he had a mission to go to. She was in the process of questioning him about what had changed his mind when Ino spoke up from beside him. She had heard about his decision to join the Anbu, which was a bit of a surprise itself, as well as how Ino had been assisting him while he was in. That did nothing to keep her from trying to show her superiority over Ino, deciding to display how she had "won" the affections of the last Uchiha. In a moment that, while not immediately, would completely throw Sakura off, Ino merely expressed her distaste in Sasuke. Instead, she would begin to sing the praises of her blonde teammate, stating how Sakura had blew her chance with him over a traitor. It would be at this point that Sakura said something that, had she had been paying more attention to the current situation, she probably wouldn't have said. _"Naruto? Please_. _All he ever had for me was a little kiddy crush. That's all it ever was, and that's all it ever will be." _As Ino chastised Sakura for her cruel words and pulled Naruto away, Sakura caught the look in Naruto's eyes. The shocked look that crossed her face appeared not because of what she had said while Naruto was there. No it was because of the fact that Naruto apparently believed that he had a chance with her for all of these years.

However, something else had caught her attention. That was how quickly Ino had come to his defense, even looking genuinely concerned for him as she led him towards the seating area for the fireworks show, prompting Sakura to wonder just when Ino started defending a boy who they had both agreed to be a big waste of space while they were in the academy. I mean, yes he had definitely grown since then, but Sakura just couldn't see anyone defending Naruto that way at any age.

The incident at the Oasis' grand opening pushed Sakura over the edge. The ensuing fight had the same affect on their friendship as when Sakura had announced that she was becoming Ino's rival for the affections of Sasuke. Only instead of simply breaking, their friendship was shattered beyond repair.

And that leads us to the present day. Sasuke and Sakura had literally just walked in the door after a routine patrol of the Iwa border. Apparently, word seems to travel fast around the Five Great Nations, as the news that a Konoha Anbu team had just defeated an entire army of sound ninjas on their own had reached the ears of the Iwa ninjas. The fact that the attack was more or less spearheaded by a ninja with bright blonde hair had given the Hokage a reason to be cautious with the Iwa ninjas, considering what happened last time a ninja with said description had come up on their radar. So she had assigned a team of ninja's to patrol the border to Iwa, just to be on the safe side. Sakura was somewhat surprised to find Ino's sister, Lee, and the Kazekage there as well, but didn't have time to ask any questions, and the Hokage immediately assigned her and Sasuke to go with Inoria to support Ino. Inoria filled them in on the situation, though it was clear she did so with the greatest of reluctance. Sakura was sure that the only reason she was even talking to her right now was the fact that Sakura had saved her during the Chuunin exams. After her explanation, Sasuke scoffed, saying that the chances of Ino surviving long enough for Inoria to even make it back to Konoha were practically nonexistent. Sakura could swear that there was a slight tensing in the young Chuunin's arms, and she definitely stayed on the branch about a second longer than she needed, but other than that she kept on going, though she remained silent the rest of the way.

While she would not do so out loud, Sakura had to agree with her fiancé. Ino's fighting style was definitely not meant for large groups of enemies. At the most she could probably fight off four at one time. She only knew one attack that could possibly eliminate all of them, and there was absolutely no way that she could keep them still long enough to A. get clear of the blast herself and B. take them all out. Statistically speaking, Ino's fate was as good as sealed.

So you can imagine Sakura's surprise when they got to the battle field. There were human body parts and ninja weapons everywhere. Near the center of the village lay a large black circle, which given the number of burn houses and buildings, meant that there had been an explosion of some sort. And not too far away from that sat Naruto, hunched over the beaten, battered, and seemingly lifeless body of Ino. Given the time it took them to get here, there was no way that Naruto could have gotten here in time to join in this battle, meaning that Ino had somehow done all of this on her own. 'How in the hell did she do all of this? It just isn't possible.' There would be time for finding that out later, though. She realized that Ino was still in danger, and had just about to move ahead to start the healing process when she stopped. The darker part of Sakura's mind reminded her of everything that Ino had done to her, including the Oasis incident as well as refusing to thank Ino for helping her sister. If Ino wanted her help this time, then she would have to do a couple of things. Sakura partially agreed with this, but decided to see if she could work her way around this. Maybe this could all be resolved without the need for confrontations like this.

A small, small part of her said, 'Don't count on it.'

*****

For a period of time that, while it only seemed like it lasted several minutes had only been 30 seconds, Naruto simply stared at his two former teammates, his expression unreadable. In truth, he would have preferred that Tsunade had sent someone else, anyone else. But now was not the time to allow his feelings for them to interfere. Almost as if on cue, Ino let out a series of coughs, small droplets of blood emerging from her mouth.

Naruto turned back to Ino, his face now reclaiming the concerned look it had a couple of minutes ago. "Look, whatever happened between us in the past is just that. The past. She been beaten almost to death, she has lost a good amount of blood, and for some reason she still wants me to think that she is alright. Judging from what she has shown me, she has been like this for maybe half an hour, give or take. She needs to get help now." Although he did not possess too much knowledge on first aid, Ino had been filling him in on some of the basics. One of the things she told him about was the Golden Hour. Basically you had one hours from the time someone sustains a serious injury to get them to a higher echelon of care or else their life would be put into serious danger. Granted her training as a ninja allowed Ino at least a little leeway in that aspect, but still, she needed medical care as soon as possible.

Sakura stepped forward to Ino's side, moved Naruto out of the way, and began to examine Ino's body. It was clear to each one present that she had done all of this with the least bit of urgency, but Naruto would allow that to slide for now. Sakura was Ino's best chance for survival for now, so it wouldn't be wise for him to distract her.

"She'll be ok if we can get her back to Konoha hospital fast. Naruto, Lee. Come pick her up so we can be on our way."

Neither ninja moved. Lee was the one to voice the question on both their minds. "Um, Sakura-san, can't you just heal her here?"

"No. We have to get her back to the hospital immediately. We can get her stabilized as well as begin a blood transfusion for her. Now hurry up and get over here."

Lee hesitated for just a moment before relenting. He took one step, but was immediately stopped by Naruto's voice.

"So you are saying that you would risk having us move her, possibly reopening her wounds, rather than simply healing her here and then moving her? You mean to tell me that with all of that time you were under Baa-chan, you can't simply heal here here?"

"Maybe it isn't a matter of if she can do this." Gaara had noticed the slight tones of anger in Naruto's voice when he was talking with Sakura. He knew that Naruto had finally given upon the girl, but he had yet to witness any sort of interaction between them since. This was not an opportunity he could miss, nor could he help but try and push it along. "Maybe it is simply a matter of if she _will _do it."

Sakura, immediately recognizing the context of his words, tried to dispel it before Naruto could figure it out for himself. "I don't know what you are talking about, Kazekage-sama. If my current abilities would allow, I would be happy to……."

It was at this point that Sasuke, bored with the pace of the conversation, decided to speak up, though it would not be in defense of his fiancé. "Just do it, Sakura. Everyone here knows that you can."

Sakura had just enough time to send a completely shocked look towards Sasuke before a wave of killing intent washed over the entire area. And at the center of that wave was Naruto. "You were gonna let her stay like this? You knew that you could have healed her easily, and yet you were willing to simply let her remain in danger like this? Why?"

Sakura realized that she was now in a corner. A part of her hoped that it wouldn't have to come to this, but Naruto was just too stubborn for his own good. Or in this case, Ino's. Letting out a deep breath, she turned a sharp look to Naruto, attempting to match his glare. "Fine, you want me to heal her? Then she has to do two thing s for me when she wakes up, and I want you to guarantee that she is going to give them to me, Naruto. First I want an apology, a sincere apology, for what she did to me at the Oasis. Second. I want a thank you for helping her sister when she was injured at the Chuunin exam stadium. If you can say with confidence that Ino will give me those two things, then I will heal her enough to talk. Once I get them both, then I will heal her all the way."

Naruto's anger subsided, replaced by a feeling of complete and total shock. Lee was feeling the same way though not nearly to the extent that Naruto was. However, there was one source of anger left in the collected party of ninjas. "YOU BITCH!!!" Inoria, eyes wild with rage, lunged forward and punched Sakura square in the jaw. She wasn't done, not by a long shot, but Naruto had reached forward after the initial blow and restrained her. However, he would pass her off to Lee, as he was sure that he wouldn't be able to hold her back while he was making his case.

"You would seriously let this stupid little squabble between the two of you get in the way like this? Are you gonna let her die just because of that?!" Yes, he was somewhat putting himself down considering that he was the initial cause of this stupid little squabble, but if it meant that Ino would survive, he would take a little self-depreciation.

Inoria's punch had staggered her back a couple of steps, as well as caused a small trickle of blood to come from her mouth. However, she remained relatively unfazed by the blow. She straightened back up and sent a narrow-eyed glare at Ino. "I will get what I want from her."

Naruto could feel the anger building back up, but pushed it aside again, trying to focus of getting Ino the help she needed as soon as possible. "Fine, then don't do it for Ino. Do it as a favor to me."

"You?!" Now her glare returned to Naruto. "You are just as guilty as she is. What reason would I possibly have for doing you a favor? What have you done for me?"

"…………What have I done for you?" Each word was silent and deliberate. Her question had finally snapped something inside of him that had been slowly building ever since Naruto had first returned Sasuke to the village. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. When they opened again, they were narrowed into a vicious glare, directed at Sakura, who couldn't help but flinch back as the explosion of killing intent hit her body. "Why don't we start at the beginning?"

From deep inside his body, the Kyuubi was enjoying the show from behind his seal. Strangely enough, the brat, for all the anger he was exerting, had yet to draw upon his power. Whatever was going on outside, whoever had made his container angry, they had made it personal enough that they were getting nothing but him. The Kyuubi could not help but give him his own blessing, despite the irony in it. _**"Let 'em have it, kid."**_

"Who was it that saved you when Gaara had you caught in his sands during the Chuunin exams? Who went and brought back baa-chan so she could save Sasuke, and then go on to take you in as her apprentice? Who was it that made a promise to you that he would bring Sasuke back to the village, despite my personal feelings for him and the fact that he had left on his own, and then nearly got himself killed trying to get him to come back? Who was the one who was always out there making sure that everything was going to be alright every time Kakashi-sensei said those same words to you and then sat back and watched? Who always made sure that he went out of his way so that you would be happy? Who was it that finally brought back Sasuke so that you could become engaged to him?

The answer to each and every one of those questions is me. I did all of that just for you, in the hopes that you would one day notice me, acknowledge me, like me, or even thank me. 8 years of trying to make you happy, and never have I received even one thank you. Well guess what? Now I am going to give you an out. Heal Ino right now, and I will consider that a thank you for everything that I have done for you."

Naruto, so completely enthralled in his speech, did not even notice that he had begun to advance, fists clenched and shaking uncontrollably, on Sakura, who had started to retreat at a similar pace to him looking genuinely frightened of Naruto. Inoria had gone completely still, becoming somewhat scared of Naruto herself. She had never seen him this angry before, and doubted that she would want to see it again. Somehow it just didn't seem right on him. Lee had been still for a moment, but immediately tried to stop Naruto from doing something he was sure he would regret, when he was stopped by Gaara.

From what Gaara had gathered from his past conversations with the boy, including the one they had after the Tokugawa Ganju mission, Naruto had quite a few thing he was repressing at the moment. One of those things was a laundry list of emotions and feelings towards certain individuals. He had told Naruto that he would need to let go of his burden as far as the Kyuubi was concerned, but also the rest of what he was holding in would need to go as well. So, Gaara would not allow anyone to interfere with this.

Or at least he wouldn't let the wrong individuals interfere. His smile reappeared when Uchiha Sasuke stepped up and grabbed Naruto's arm. "Oi, Naruto! Calm down!"

"Stay out of this Uchiha. This has nothing to do with you." His glare never left Sakura, who was having a pretty difficult time meeting it now.

"You are threatening my fiancé, so it involves me?"

Naruto's head now whipped around to glare at Sasuke. "Fiancé? Don't you mean the soon-to –be mother of your children? That's all you see her as right? It could have been any girl, as long as they were capable of bearing children, reviving your clan. You only picked Sakura because she was the most willing."

"What's it to you dobe?"

……….. Complete and total silence filled the village now. Naruto's anger had subsided a little. Even if he had been the one to bring it up, he never would have expected Sasuke to admit it like that, especially in front of Sakura.

One second later, Sasuke realized what had just left his mouth, and in an obvious attempt to save face, added in his most bored of tones, "But looking at her now, I don't think I want such a weak girl as the matriarch of my clan. Consider our engagement canceled." And with that, Sasuke disappeared in a whirlwind of leaves.

No one moved for a while, everyone still trying to register what had happened. Naruto's anger had since completely left, and Inoria was finally able to let out a breath she had not realized she was holding. Lee had been released from Gaara's grasp finally, though he still opted to not move anymore. Gaara, on the other hand, walked up behind Naruto and but a hand on his shoulder. "How do you feel?"

It took Naruto a second to realize what he was asking, but once he understood, he took a deep breath and let it out. "Lighter."

"I figured. Another burden let off your shoulders." He removed his hand and turned around. "We can discuss this later. For now let's get….." His voice trailed off, and when Naruto looked to see why, he was met with a completely unexpected sight. Sakura had crouched down next to Ino and had begun to heal her wounds.

Naruto had begun to open his mouth, when Sakura spoke. "I will close up all of her wounds. You should be able to get her back to Konoha with no problems. Just please, leave me be for a while."

No one objected, and soon Ino was ready to be transported back to the village. As Naruto loaded her up on her back, he got a look at Sakura. Her eyes had this distant look to them, as if she weren't really looking at anything at all. He contemplated sending Ino back with a clone, and staying to make sure she was alright. After all, she had kept her end of the bargain and healed Ino. But He resigned, figuring that she would talk about it when she was ready to do so. He stood and bounded off for the shortcut to the village, Inoria, Lee, and Gaara close behind.

*****

Sakura was numb. Literally. For the first few minutes after the rest of them had left, which she was only vaguely aware of anyway, Sakura could not feel anything. Even the light throbbing on her jaw from the punch Ino's sister had given her didn't register. Once more, she had to bear witness to her team completely disintegrating before her very eyes. And no matter how she tried to cut it, no matter how she tried to deny it, the fact of the matter was that instead of trying to stop it, she had been the ultimate cause of it.

At first, Inner Sakura had tried to place the blame on Naruto. All he had to do was accept the fact that she couldn't heal Ino right then and there, and everything would have been fine. Sakura, unfortunately for her alter ego, rationalized that while the old Naruto would have done so, this Naruto wouldn't. He had no reason to fight for her attention, or go so far out of his way to make her happy anymore, thanks to her engagement to Sasuke, as well as his newfound relationship with Ino. This meant that he would be questioning her motives more and more, asking for her reasons.

Her inner self would move on, saying that Ino was the one to blame. Both Sakura and in had decided that Naruto was nothing more than a loud, annoying, horribly dressed waste of space. So why did Ino start defending the boy so much? Sakura relented, because Ino had seen something that should have been so obvious to Sakura. Deep down, underneath all the pranks, all the loud talking, all the Hokage this and Hokage that, and definitely underneath the ridiculously orange clothing, lay a man who would, and did, do the same for Ino. He had exhibited the same amount of devotion to Sakura, but she had brushed it off, even going so far as to use that to 'motivate' Naruto into bringing Sasuke back. Sakura had used him, where Ino had truly appreciated him. This was half of the reason why she had healed Ino without any further incident.

Inner Sakura then simply started to fire off different people to pass the blame on to. Kakashi-sensei should have actually helped out more, or should have trained them more as a team. Or what would have happened if Orochimaru had not decided to give Sasuke that mark. Or about half a dozen other ways that she could think of to take the blame off of her. Each time, Sakura would shoot each and every argument down, which would place the blame right back on square one; herself.

Inner Sakura would not let up, asking just what she had done to place the blame on herself. This one actually caught Sakura of guard for a moment, and she really had to search for her answer to this one. However, she would realize that this was, more or less a trick question. It wasn't exactly what she had done, it was what she hadn't.

Referring back to her thoughts on Ino when she had first arrived on the scene, she quickly realized that Ino had not been the only one to change. Naruto had become decidedly more mature and thoughtful, as well as becoming fiercely protective of Ino. Even the Kazekage had shown the changes with him. His mere presence here was a testament to that, but the fact that he had pushed this little argument along was the most glaring sign.

And if she really thought about it, all of the ninjas of their generation had changed in some way. Tenten had joined the Anbu (a very drastic change considering her former employment status as a teacher) Neji had become somewhat bearable to be around, and despite the popular belief, Shikamaru was being far less of a lazy bum than usual. Even Hinata had started to focus more on her training and less on shadowing Naruto. In fact, last time she checked, the girl had actually completely stopped doing so altogether.

But when Sakura compared herself now to herself 8 years ago, she realized that the only real difference was the fact that she had acquired the Hokage's healing and fighting techniques. All of her peers had changed, matured, grown up. She had not.

This was a particularly painful conclusion to come to as it confirmed that everything that Naruto had said about her was correct. He had done a countless number of things for her. Small things, big things, things that caused him to risk his life, anything and everything he could do for her. All in the spirit of making her happy. And in spite of all of that she never really expressed her gratitude towards him. Even when Sasuke left, her focus was still on the last Uchiha, who hadn't done even half of what Naruto had done. Naruto was the afterthought. This was the other half of why she had healed Ino

Tough in essence, she really shouldn't have needed a reason to do so. Ino was a fellow Konoha shinobi, therefore Sakura was duty bound to do everything in her power to help Ino, no matter what had happened between them personally. While Ino didn't thank her for it, she did still entrust her sister's welfare with Sakura. Ino had understood this principle, and if the roles were reversed, would have undoubtedly helped Sakura.

Finally regaining the feeling in her body, she stood up and headed back towards the shortcut to the village. She may have become a great enough ninja, but she was a failure as a person. She couldn't even begin to count the number of apologies she would have to give, but she knew that she would have to start now. She was probably a few years too late, but she knew that she still needed to grow up. To mature.

To change.

-End-

*Drops to his knees and bows, his head touching the ground.*

Gomenasai! X100

I know that this chapter should have been up a long time ago, but unfortunately I hit a series of road blocks. Doesn't matter anymore though. It's up and I am hoping to get back into my groove.

I will give a full update when I get my next chapter up, which barring anything too drastic, should be soon.

R&R&have a nice day.


	17. Man Behind the Mask

-Chapter 15 The Man Behind the Mask-

Inoria was fairly certain that if anyone had been standing in Naruto's way right now, he would not hesitate to run them completely over. Even the Godaime herself probably wouldn't be able to stop the out of control locomotive named Uzumaki Naruto.

He had set a brisk pace heading towards Konoha, and was only getting faster as they went along. Inoria had considered herself pretty fast herself, but just trying to keep up with Naruto was making her have to strain each and every muscle in her legs. The truly galling thing about it was the fact that she was sure that Naruto was holding back. Partially because of her sister, but more evidently because he wasn't trying to lose the rest of the group, though when she thought about this closely the 'rest of the group' really only boiled down to her. The Kazekage didn't factor into this simply because he was the only volunteer of the group. Lee was just as fast, if not faster, than Naruto so he didn't factor either. In fact, Inoria had to wonder why he hadn't even looked like he was about to go on another one of his whole 'if I cannot beat you then I will do some ridiculous task for a ridiculous amount of times' tirade. Then again, she realized that with the mood Naruto was in, it probably wasn't a good idea to try and distract him like that. As crazy as Lee was, and even would tell you that he was a little crazy, Inoria was sure that he was nowhere near suicidal. Inoria had only just hit Chuunin, and she had only been a ninja for a little under a year. It would make sense that she did not have the speed or stamina of any of the older ninja's that currently surrounded her.

"Naruto-nii-san, you go ahead and get my sister to the village hospital. I'll make it there when I can." Inoria had begun to fall back a little bit, her muscles finally starting to slow her down.

Naruto looked back to her for a moment, obviously not wanting to leave her behind, but decided to comply with her wishes. "Then I want you to head home as soon as you get back. I'll come and get you when Ino's alright again. His face softened just a little bit. "You did good today Inoria. I mean that." With that, he turned and sped up with Lee close behind, quickly leaving Inoria's sight.

Inoria stopped for a minute to catch her breath, clearly winded from trying to keep pace with Naruto. When she looked up again, she was surprised to see the Kazekage standing next to her. "What are you doing here? I don't need you to babysit me."

"Oh? Considering that you didn't even realize that I was standing here until you looked up, I would be inclined to say otherwise." His gaze fell upon her, the right corner of his mouth raised ever so slightly.

Inoria wanted nothing more than to fire back some sort of response, but found that nothing she could have said in her defense would have any grounds. All she could do was sigh deeply. "I suppose you are going to lecture me about how I still have a lot to learn, right?"

Gaara's head tilted just a tad to the side. "On the contrary, I don't think I need to. You seem to understand your limits very well. After all, you did allow Naruto to go on ahead instead of trying to keep up with his pace."

Inoria found herself looking towards the direction Naruto had gone, her face slightly downcast. "I keep trying to tell myself that Naruto is just really good, but for some reason all I can focus on is how far behind him I am."

"You are still a young ninja. You haven't seen everything that Naruto has, and if he is to be believed, you have yet to experience your first kill on a mission."

She nodded at that statement. "I was looking forward to getting that experience on this mission. But onee-san wouldn't let me stay with her. She said that I wouldn't have been able to take them on with her because they were so strong and there were so many of them. No matter how much I try to make it sound like it isn't my fault, it keeps on coming out that I couldn't help because I was too weak to do so."

Gaara's smile had already left as he listened to the younger girls words. She was definitely different from most of the young female ninja's he had known in this village. Neither Ino nor Sakura were anywhere near at her level when he had seen them. The fact that she still didn't think it was enough truly amazed him, even if she was unjustly putting herself down. "Do not confuse being weak with being unable to help. If your sister thought you were weak, she wouldn't have allowed you to take on this mission. Neither would the Hokage. You were promoted as well correct? That means that your Hokage believed that you were strong enough to take on more challenging missions. Being unable to help your sister take on 40 upper B, lower A class missing nins doesn't mean you are weak."

"No, it just means I was too weak to help her."

Almost at once, it fell into place for Gaara. "You think she made you leave because she believed you were too weak to help." He sighed and turned his head. "I keep forgetting that you younger ninjas are far more naïve than usual."

Inoria turned angrily towards the Kazekage, but was unable to as he continued to speak. "As the Kazekage, my number one priority is ensuring that the people and ninjas of my village are safe. If keeping them safe means putting myself in harm's way, then I would do so without a second thought. I never consider them too weak to defend themselves. I do so because that is my duty as Kazekage. The same goes for every other Kage, for every parent, for every Jonin sensei, and for every older sibling."

His last words caused a light to click on in her mind. "Looks like I do still have a lot to learn."

Gaara's smile returned at once. "Maybe, but as opposed to many of your peers, you are already in a good position. You have a lot to learn, but you know that you do."

She nodded her head, and stretched out her legs a little more. "Ok well I'm ready to head on back to the village now. Wanna race Kazekage-sama?" When she didn't get an answer, she turned to Gaara to see what was up, only to be met with a small wisp of sand, which turned into an empty space in the air. "I think Naruto-nii-san was right. He must purposefully annoy people." Sighing once more she jumped into the trees and continued to the village.

-At the village gates-

As soon as they had hit the front gates, Lee and Naruto had broken off. Naruto headed straight to the hospital after telling Lee to go and check in with the Hokage. Lee complied without any argument, not that he could have made any argument at that point.

What had surprised Lee was the fact that as soon as he opened the door to the Hokage's office, the Kazekage was already there.

"Ah, Lee. You can go ahead and go. The Kazekage will be giving me the report on what happened." Tsunade spoke to Lee from behind her desk.

Lee simply bowed to her before closing the door.

"Ok, so what happened?" Tsunade stood up and walked to the window of her office.

Gaara folded his arms and closed his eyes. "When we got there, the village was a mess. The houses towards the outside of the village were relatively untouched. As we moved towards the center of the village, the signs of battle became clearer and clearer. There were bodies everywhere, as well as a giant black circle in the center of the village. Apparently the Yamanaka had set off some sort of large explosion.

"The Yamanaka herself was found by Naruto, badly injured but otherwise still alive. When we arrived on the scene, he immediately asked the medic you sent with us to heal her." He paused for a moment to open his eyes, waiting for Tsunade to focus his attention on her. "You may want to sit down for this."

Tsunade, instantly concerned, took her seat and motioned for Gaara to continue. "It was at this time that Sakura claimed that her current skills as a medic rendered her incapable of treating Ino on site, and told us that she would need to be transported back to the hospital here before treatment would begin."

"She. Did. What?" Each word was silent, deliberate, almost as if she were having problems believing her own ears.

"Let me finish. I was made aware by Naruto of the little rivalry between the two girls, which apparently had taken a much more personal turn between the two of them. I called her out on that, insinuating that she simply didn't want to do so instead of being unable to do so. Although she attempted to deny it, her former fiancé confirmed my statement, telling her to just heal the Yamanaka.

"This provoked an angry response from Naruto, who started to question her about this. Sakura, obviously realizing she was cornered, then made an ultimatum. If she received a thank you and an apology from Ino, then she would heal her."

Obviously, Tsunade was beginning to seethe a little bit from what she was hearing, but held herself steady to let Gaara continue his story.

"Naruto was obviously angry with her, but held himself back in favor of getting Ino the help she needed. He tried again to bargain with her, asking her to do it as a favor to him. When she asked just why she should do anything for him, he snapped. He tore into that poor girl so badly that I was convinced that if she tried to deny his partner medical help again, he wouldn't have thought twice about ending her life right then and there."

This caught Tsunade's attention, her eyes widening at this. Naruto possibly killing another Konoha ninja was a stretch she had never even contemplated. Naruto killing Sakura was just downright unheard of. "Did…… did he actually say that?"

"No, he never actually threatened her life." Tsunade sighed in relief. Bad enough that she was going to have to punish Sakura. The last thing she wanted to do was have to bench Naruto because he had threatened a fellow ninja.

"Sasuke stepped in to try to stop Naruto, who then turned his anger towards him. It was then that Sasuke admitted that he never really loved Sakura and broke off their engagement. Sasuke then left the village, and Sakura healed Ino without any further incident, though she asked that she be left alone. Afterwards I, Lee, the younger Yamanaka, and Naruto with Ino in tow came back to the village. Naruto has already taken Ino to the hospital."

Tsunade nodded her head and sighed. She remained silent as the details replayed themselves through her mind. "Should I have the girl brought here?"

"No, she will come here on her own. She already knows what will happen if she doesn't report to me, though that will probably be a mercy compared to what will happen."

Gaara nodded his head. "Very well then. I shall be heading back to my village. Hope to hear from you soon." He turn towards the door and stared to walk out. As he reached for that door, it opened all on its own, and Haruno Sakura walked into the office. Gaara, curious as he was, didn't think that this was the time to be in the office. As the door closed behind him, the last words he heard from the Hokage caused a smile to appear on his face. "You have a hell of a lot of explaining to do."

-Konoha hospital-

The next time Ino would become aware of anything, the only thing that filled her vision was white. 'So this is it, huh? After all of that, after everything I went through, I still get to die? Fan-fucking-tastic! Ugh, I even get to die with a headache no less. Hope they got aspr….. Wait. Now that I think about it, I still feel pretty sore everywhere. I would have thought that death would have taken all that pain away." It was about this time that Ino's eyes slowly started to flutter open, and Ino was met with a familiar sight; the ceiling of a room in Konoha Hospital. She was alive. She was sore all over, but she was alive.

Apparently, it took her senses a little bit to turn on again, because it wouldn't be for a few more minutes after her eyes opened that she was made aware of a distinct snoring sound to her left. Against her body's wishes, she turned her head in the direction of the noise, and was greeted with the sight of Uzumaki Naruto, completely knocked out in a chair next to her bed.

She couldn't help but smile. She had never seen him sleep so peacefully before, aside from seeing him after the sound army mission, and she had to admit that he looked positively adorable like this. More importantly, he looked so much more like the real him. No masks, no secrets, no walls between the two of them.

Once more, her body was basically screaming at her for attempting to make use of it right now, but she needed to see just what had happened while she was out. The last thing she remembered clearly was returning to her body after showing Naruto the memories of her fight, so she was sure she had a lot to catch up on. Naruto no doubt had a firsthand view of the action, and he was right next to her so her choice was obvious. Moving her hands up far enough, she made the window and jumped into his mind.

Even though she had been in his mind before, that did not make it any easier to have to encounter this particular mind again. Thankfully she wouldn't have to go through memory after painful memory. She simply continued down the hallway until she reached a dead end, which was where his most recent of memories would be. However, when she got there something else caught his eye. It was a door and a particularly inviting door as well. This was somewhat weird as every other memory Naruto had was inside one of the little mini hallways that lined the passageway she was in. Keeping this in mind, she entered the last hallway before the dead end and stepped into the memory.

Obviously, she understood Naruto's feelings when he was made aware that Sasuke and Sakura had been sent, but was still grateful when he pushed them aside in favor of her well being. She also understood his anger when Sakura tried to shirk her duties as a medic, but Ino would have let that one slide had she not heard Sakura's ultimatum after that. And while she was extremely proud of her sister for doing what she did, she would have to sit her down and talk to her about using just a bit more tact when dealing with a senior ninja.

As the memory continued, Ino could almost taste the emotion in the air as Naruto started to chew Sakura out like a piece of gum, and she enjoyed each and every minute of it. Finally, Naruto had put Sakura in her place, which was only made sweeter by Sasuke doing the same. As much as she wanted to feel sorry for her because of how openly blunt Sasuke was when he had admitted that he never had any true feelings for her, Ino had told her, numerous time, that he was incapable of feeling any real emotion for her or any girl. So it was her own fault.

After Sasuke left and Sakura went ahead and healed her, an action that surprised Ino, She saw Naruto load her up and rush her back to the hospital. Once there he immediately grabbed the first nurse he saw and explained Ino's situation. Once they got her into the Emergency Room, he had summoned a clone to stay at the hospital and headed to the training area, obviously to anxious to try and sit still. He was maybe 15 minutes into having an all out war with his clones when the memories of the clone at the hospital hit him. She was stabilized. Her internal injuries were healing nicely, and they had replaced the blood she had lost. All she needed now was to rest up. They had moved her to a room where he could go and visit here if he wanted. Immediately dispelling the rest of his clones, he rushed back to the hospital and headed straight for the room she was in. She was asleep, though her breathing was normal, and he could see her chest rise and fall. He had taken a seat next to her and had attempted to wait for her to wake up, but the day's activities had caught up with him finally, and within half an hour he was out cold.

She emerged from that memory and mentally prepared herself for whatever she was going to face through this door that Naruto had in his mind. Taking one more deep breath she opened it and stepped inside.

It would be a few more minutes after that before Ino would return to her body, and although there would be no obvious movement, if one were to look closely one would see a small smile on her lips.

-Later that evening-

Naruto jumped from rooftop to rooftop, heading for the training areas, his mind buzzing with just how he was going to present this situation.

He had been woken up a few hours after he had fell asleep by a nurse at the hospital, who told him that visiting hours had ended. Reluctantly, he had agreed to leave, his fear of hospitals being overridden by his concern for his teammate.

This concern, however, had got him to start thinking about what had happened that day. He was particularly interested in how viciously he had defended Ino when Sakura had tried to withhold giving her medical help. True, he cared about all of his friends and would go to great lengths to ensure their safety, but in the case of Ino he had been prepared to cause serious bodily harm to Sakura when she tried to get out of healing her. At one point, he could have sworn that he was ready to kill her for it.

Oddly enough, when he looked back on it his anger was not cause, nor was it fed, by the Kyuubi at all. Yes he may have pushed him along a little bit, but that was the equivalent of dropping a few branches into a raging inferno. No, his anger was all him, and he needed to understand it. Ino probably would have been able to tell him, but he wasn't the type of person to wait. So he decided to turn to his other female teammate.

Now if only he could find her.

Naruto had gained something of an intuition when it came to locating certain ninjas in the village. Shikamaru was usually one of three places when he was off duty; at Kurenai's place with her kid, at the monument having a smoke and talking with Asuma, or in a field somewhere staring at the clouds. Lee could always be found at the training grounds, doing some sort of completely outlandish training regimen. Even Shino had become somewhat predictable to him. The forest was his usual spot, though every now and then he stayed at home, probably doing some sort of project with his bugs. These, of course, are just to name a few.

Tenten, however, had not become as predictable as the rest of the shinobi to Naruto, so finding her was just a bit more difficult for him. His first instinct was to check the various weapons shops around the village. Calling forth a dozen clones, he dispersed them throughout the village in search of her, but they all dispelled themselves with negative results. He tried again with the restaurants of the village, making sure to henge his clones so they could actually check inside, but they all had nothing either. Then, remembering that she was on the same team as a trainaholic(I know it's not a word) he sent a dozen of his clones to the training grounds to search for her there, now starting to hope that she was still in the village somewhere.

Thankfully, one of his clones would answer that hope for him, though in a way that he was not expecting whatsoever.

The memories of one of his clones came flooding into his mind. It had been traveling about 15 minutes when it had heard a few strange noises from the forest. It had traveled maybe 500 meters and had just enough time to register a senbon needle heading straight for its head before it was dispelled by the impact. Naruto's face adopted a confused look. The aim was too perfect and it was traveling far too fast for it to be anyone else but Tenten, but why would she be attacking him? Dispelling the rest of his clones he headed for where his clone had first heard the noises. Once there he traveled the 500 meters carefully, and was met with a familiar sight.

Tenten, back towards him, was standing in a small clearing in the trees, surrounded by many targets, which all had at least 2 ninja tools embedded into their heads. He had just begun to open his mouth to get her attention when a target about a meter to his left flipped up with a snap. In a move so fluid that it could only be attained through years of practice, she turned, pulled out a senbon needle, and fired it off, hitting the target in the head. All in one motion.

This turn, however, caused Naruto to see why Tenten had not recognized his clone when it had first come. She was doing all of this blindfolded.

To say the least Naruto was impressed. He had heard from Kiba that Tenten had been stepping up her training methods, even going so far as to request solo assassination missions since the infiltration mission. When Kiba had asked her about this she had told him that she didn't want to feel like a burden on them anymore. They had spent so much time trying to help her during that mission, and she had hated herself for that. So, she would train and train until she could be at least as calm as Ino had been during the mission. But to hear someone say they were going to better themselves was one thing. To actually see it for one's self was a completely different thing.

Smiling, he broke a twig where he was standing, which caused her to send a shuriken flying towards him. This time it was evaded, which caused her to remove her blindfold to see just how she had missed her target. She did two things then, both of which lasted for about half a second each; sighed and gasped. She sighed in relief at the realization that she had not missed her target. It had just moved out of the way. Her gasp, however, was for a much more serious reason.

"N-Naruto! What the hell…. I could have killed you!"

Naruto jumped from his perch on the tree and walked over to her. "Naw, I saw that one coming. Though if it had been me the first time, I'm not sure if I would have been able to do so. You should really think about cordoning off the area if you are gonna be doing this."

Realization spread across her face immediately. "So it was one of your clones that I hit earlier."

"Yeah. That one surprised me. I figured that it was you because of the speed and accuracy of it, though I was really impressed when I found out you did that while blindfolded."

Tenten couldn't help but smile. Even if it was a bunshin, she had caught one of the most powerful ninjas in the village off guard, and she was being complimented by that same ninja. Granted if it hadn't been a bunshin, the village would probably be short one of its most powerful ninjas. "The hardest part was trying to hit the vital areas while not being able to see them. Once I got that down it was just a matter of using the sounds I hear to determine their location, then moving fast enough to retain my usually throwing speed while maintaining my regular accuracy. I still have problems hitting moving targets though, and as you just pointed out, I need to try and discern friend from foe."

"Hmm, well, just keep at it. Like your former teammate always said, it just takes a little hard work."

"You don't have to remind me. I heard it from him every day when we were still a team. But anyway, care to explain just why I almost killed you?"

Naruto took a seat on a nearby log and looked up at her. "Well, go ahead and sit down. This is probably gonna be a while."

--

Tenten could not believe just how much she had missed out on.

She had gotten the chance to see Ino's little sister in action during the Chuunin exams, as well as gotten the opportunity to meet the girl in person after her promotion. Both times she was thoroughly impressed with the young Chuunin. Her abilities in combat were far beyond what she had expecting in a ninja of her age, much less a Yamanaka. In person, she just had to be impressed with the young girl's maturity. She held an air of confidence around her, but not to the point where she became cocky. As a ninja, she was no doubt one of the best Konoha had ever produced, and no doubt was deserving of having her first B class mission. With Ino there with her, things should have gone as smoothly as any mission.

If only they could have been that simple.

Tenten's immediate reaction to Ino's decision as to how to handle the ambush was an angry, "What the hell was Ino thinking?"

Then Naruto explained the battle.

And Tenten was quickly reminded why Ino was the unofficial leader of their team.

Her calmness throughout the entire attack was something that Tenten herself had been attempting to emulate. She kept a cool head throughout the entire mission and never gave up, no matter how much the odds seemed to be against her. Somehow, she always seemed to keep her focus up and find a way to win. Tenten admired her for her determination, though Naruto had called it just plain stubbornness, claiming that every Yamanaka he had met simply didn't like to lose.

As Naruto continued on with his story, Tenten remained somewhat objection as far as Sakura was concerned. She was just recovering from an obsession similar to Sakura's, so she somewhat felt for the girl when she was informed of Sasuke breaking off their engagement, declaring that he just wanted to use her to revive his clan. That did not, however, keep her from feeling supremely proud of his partner for what he did to Sakura. If she was going to try to let Ino suffer like that, and possibly die, over some silly little squabble, then she deserved every word.

Naruto finished his story and got into why he was seeking her counsel. "Something about why I snapped at Sakura got to me. I was angry, yes, but this time there was no Kyuubi to fuel that anger. Instead, it was all me. I felt as if I wouldn't have thought twice about hurting, or even killing, Sakura. And if I trace that anger back to its source, it all started with Ino. I was willing to do anything to make sure that she was safe. I know that I care about all of my friends, but with Ino it's different. With her it's……"

Tenten had allowed a small smile to cross her face. She could have seen where this was going a mile away. And the only thought that crossed her mind at that time was, 'It's about time.' "I've spoken to Ino a couple of times, and sometimes you come up. She told me about how you seem to hold a lot of things in. It started with the Kyuubi, and because of him, your true feelings for some people were held in as well. She described it as a mask that you put on, but I think that it is closer to a costume, basically turning you into a completely different person altogether. Spending time with people who have accepted you after you let go of your first secret, the Kyuubi, has let you begin to strip away some of that costume. I think the incident with Sakura was another big step for you. Maybe it's about time for you to take the final step. Next time you see Ino, take off the rest of the costume and let her see the true Naruto."

Naruto could obviously sense a twinge of déjà vu in her words. While Gaara hadn't exactly told him to reveal everything, he did mention that holding everything in would only make things worse for himself. And though he was sure that the both of them couldn't be wrong, he still had a couple of doubts.

It must have shown on his face because Tenten continued. "I know it's not gonna be easy, especially for you. Hmm, just think of it this way. Do you really want to keep something like this from Ino, considering what happened the last time you tried to do so?"

That particular memory caused a light chuckle to escape his lips. "I suppose you have a point there. I guess I already knew all of this, I just needed a kick in the ass to get me moving. Thanks Tenten."

"Hey, no problem, though I would suggest going to Kiba for that kick. He _is_ still sore at you for making him carry you back from the sound army base after you said you were going to do so for all of us."

They had been talking for so long that neither of them noticed how late it was until they realized that the training area was being lit by the moon. "Well, I suppose I should be heading back then. Depending upon what happens tomorrow I may have an interesting ahead of me." Naruto stood and stretched out.

"Yeah, I'll be going too. I just have too…" She was cut off by a team of eight Narutos, each of whom had started removing the weapons from the surrounding targets.

Naruto himself had already begun heading back to the village. A few minutes later a smile appeared on his face. He turned, cupped his hand around his mouth, and yelled, "You're welcome, Tenten!"

-The next day-

He had faced down Akatsuki, Orochimaru, missing nins that ranged from the low B to S class, and even an entire army of ninjas without flinching.

And yet, just the thought of what he was about to do was enough to have him pacing back and forth in front of the door of her room, a nervous wreck.

He had spent maybe 3 hours this morning attempting to put his feeling into words, and as someone who usually let his actions speak for him that was not an easy thing to do. So, like all of his problems that required massive amounts of thinking, he went to the one place that allowed him to think at his best, talk about whatever was ailing him, and get a decent meal at the same time; Ichiraku's.

Surprisingly, when he got there Teuchi was not present. Ayame explained that a distant cousin of his had recently died, and he had apparently left a few things to Teuchi in his will. So he had to travel to the Hidden Waterfall Village to attend his funeral, as well as take care of any and all legal matters pertaining to his inheritance. Ayame was in charge of the stand while he was gone, and was doing her best to live up to her father's name.

While he didn't go into too many details, Naruto did explain to her his current situation. Once finished he asked her, "What do I say? How do I say it?" Ayame, understanding his problem, decided to relate it to something he was good at. "Naruto, when you are fighting, do you usually plan out your moves, or do you just go with the first thing you think of?" When he admitted to doing the latter she continued. "Then use that for this. Just say whatever comes to mind first. Here, I'll help you out a bit. I'll be Ino. Say whatever comes to mind first, and I'll let you know how you do."

When Naruto left the stand, Ayame would be wide eyed, open mouthed, red faced, and claim that she would have to change her undergarments. Naruto wasn't sure, but he wrote it off as a good reaction.

And that leads us to the present. Naruto was attempting to remove the last of his nervousness from his body by pacing back and forth. It was simple. Go in there, hold nothing back, and say the first thing that comes to mind. Taking one final deep breath he reached out and opened the door.

"Ino, I wanted to-" He immediately turned away from her, averting his eyes from her naked form. "Damnit Ino, stop doing that."

Her position on the bed, along with the not so innocent look on her face, made it perfectly clear that she had purposefully allowed herself to be seen this way. "Can you blame me? It's been a while since I've tried this, and I did have the perfect situation. Besides you looked so tense coming in, and now look at you." She had placed her hospital gown back on her body as she spoke. "Ok, I'm decent."

Naruto turned back to her and sighed deeply. As much as he wanted to chastise her, she did have a point. Her little exhibition had removed the last of his nervousness from his body. 'Wonder if this is gonna change how we act around each other.'

"Ok so what's up? You sounded like you had something to say, and considering how tense you were, it seemed important." She sat with her legs dangling off the side of the bed facing Naruto.

Naruto sat down in the chair in front of her and looked down for a moment. "Well, I have something I want to say." He closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and looked back up at her. "Ino I-" His words were immediately cut off by Ino, jumping off the bed onto his lap, her arms wrapping around his neck, and her lips crashing into his.

Once she released her lock on his lips, he looked up at her. There were so many things running through his mind, but one actually escaped his lips. "How did you know?"

She smiled down at him. "Yesterday, after you went to sleep, I woke up for a little bit. I searched your mind to find out what had happened after I was out, and I found something else. You remember what I said about doors reserved for certain people right? Well you had one door in your mind, reserved especially for me. That told me that you had real feelings for me, but I wanted to wait until you revealed them yourself. When you looked at me then, I saw it. No masks, no secrets. Just you. That's when I knew."

Naruto stared at her in a bit of wonder, and then allowed a small smile to cross his face. "Guess I don't have to say anything then huh? And I spent all morning figuring out how to say it to you. One of these days I'm gonna get you back for this." And with that he reached up and pulled her into another kiss, this time with him in the lead.

-End-

10 days in the mountains with A. No cable B. Fuck cable, no T.V. C. No internet D. To hell with internet, No computer E. No Playstation 3 F. No PSP G. No Wii H. No Nintendo D.S. and I. No cell phone service plus a couple of months of sketchy internet service, and these last two chapters are all I have to show for it. I. Am. So. Sorry. I truly believe that I should have gotten more done, but this is all I have to show for it.

What really sucks is that I am out of ideas for my next project as I sit here. Hopefully my muse, lazy bum that she is, strikes me with something pretty soon, so pray for thunder storms.

And, I sincerely hope that this chapter makes you people happy. I gave you what you wanted. Now I just have to see about giving you more. Writer's job is never done.

Seriously though, thanks to everyone who appreciates this. After all, without you, this story probably wouldn't have even been conceived. So to all of my reviewers who have been here through thick and thin(Once again, I'm looking at you Mr. Thumbsup. I know there is more but he's the only one I remember off the top of my head) thank you and keep your eyes open. I'll try to have something up as soon as possible.

R&R&have a nice day


	18. Update

Author Update

Ok. I have good news, and I have bad news. For the sake of this little update I will be presenting them in alphabetical order.

Bad news: My Naruto muse, a lazy little bum by the name of Futomi Ina, has decided that she wants to go on vacation, leaving me with nary an idea for my next chapter. I know that a good lot of you were looking forward to seeing Sakura getting chewed out by the Godaime, something I had already been planning on, but unfortunately without anything else to go on I really can't even attempt to start writing this chapter. So, until she decides she wants to work again, I am sidelining this story.

Let me make this perfectly clear. I Am Not Ending This Story. I know that I can take this story a little further, and I fully intend to do so. Trust me, when I do decided to end this story, you will all know it.

Now for the good news, though this probably only relates to those who have read my One Piece fic "Vivi Returns". Nico Robin, the woman who has taken the role as my One Piece muse, has finally returned to active duty and is currently assisting me with the remake of the aforementioned story. That's right, I said remake. As it was my very first story, it will always hold a special place in my heart, but I believe that it could have been better, much better than it was. So I have spoken to Robin and have come up with ways to possibly make this story even better than the prototype. I know that I said I was going to do this a while ago, so I apologize to those who have been waiting for it. (Once again, my eye is on you, Mr. Thumbsup) You all should be seeing a new story pop up pretty soon if you have me on your author update list so keep an eye out.

That's all I have for now. See ya soon.


	19. Back to Square One

-Chapter 15 Back to Square One-

-Yesterday-

"You have a hell of a lot of explaining to do." That basically went without saying in the mind of Haruno Sakura as she walked into the Hokage's office, barely even noticing the Kazekage as he exited the office.

She had spent the walk back to the village basically contemplating just how she was going to salvage whatever would be left of her reputation as both a ninja and a medic after the Hokage was done with her. Needless to say she had not come up with any good results. At best she would probably be demoted, maybe even sent back to the academy. At worst, her ninja career would be over. She had committed one of the most inexcusable acts that anyone, medic or no, could have ever even considered doing; tried to refuse aid to a fellow ninja in desperate need of medical attention. Even worse, she had tried to make Naruto bargain with her for her medical services. And where had that gotten her? Naruto would probably never talk to her again, even though she had indeed helped Ino, Lee would most likely never defend her again, the Kazekage would probably loose the respect he had for her after her actions during his rescue five years ago, Sasuke had broken off their engagement, though in hindsight that would no doubt end up being more of a blessing than she would have ever admitted, even to herself. And Ino... What would she think? Or do?

And those were just the ones that already knew. There was no telling what would happen when the rest of the village found out.

"I know, Hokage-sama." She stood stock still in front of the Hokage's desk, surprisingly meeting the cold, hard stare of her teacher.

"I will not repeat your transgressions, as I was briefed on them by Gaara." At this she stood up and walked around her desk to stand within arms reach of Sakura. "Instead I will give you a moment to think, and then allow you to explain. And if you know what is good for you, it had better be good."

Sakura did not even take that moment. She didn't need it. "I have no excuse for what I did. I allowed myself to be consumed by this rivalry between me and Ino, and it completely altered my judgment. I know that no amount of apologies to either you, Naruto, or Ino will ever be able to make up for what I did, and I accept that. It doesn't mean that I will refuse to try, but I will understand if you feel that you cannot trust me again. I am ready and willing to accept whatever punishment you deem fit to bestow upon me." She stopped for a moment and averted her gaze away from Tsunade. "I have failed. Be it as a medic, a ninja, or just a decent human being, I have failed you all." She waited a little while longer, attempting to pull together something more, but found that nothing else would come up. "That is all I have."

Almost as soon as the words were finished exiting her mouth, Tsunade leveled her with a right hook, sending her flying into the wall. It wasn't her hardest hit, certainly not the hardest Sakura had ever taken, but it still hurt. Tsunade walked over to where she was crouched over, and was only mildly surprised to see that Sakura showed know signs of being in any sort of pain, even as her left cheek began to swell up. "You are damn right that no amount of apologies will ever make up for this! This wasn't just some stupid fan girl dispute! This was another person's life that was at stake! You were willing to allow Ino to remain in pain for what? An apology? A thank you? You know what Gaara told me about Naruto when he went off on you?"

Sakura stood up once more and faced her superior. "That Naruto looked as if he wouldn't have thought twice about attacking me?" She wasn't trying to be smart about it at all. She was just saying what she felt Naruto was feeling at that moment.

WHAM! A left cross and Sakura was down again. "Even worse! Gaara said that if you denied Ino aid again, Naruto would have probably killed you right on the spot! Naruto! Think about that for a second!" Tsunade was walking towards where Sakura had landed even as she was yelling.

She allowed that to swirl around her mind for a second as she collected herself after the blow. "I know, Tsunade-sama. And to be perfectly honest, for a while there I think I would have preferred that over listening to Sasuke tell me that he never really loved me. He just saw me as a breeding machine for his clan." She doubled over in pain as she received a swift kick to the gut. She felt herself being pulled up by the front of her blouse and was greeted with the enraged face of Tsunade.

"There are so many things that I feel I should do to you. Beat you within an inch of your life and then just leave you there. See if you like how it feels to be in desperate need of help, but denied it. But instead I am going to allow you to walk out of my office. Tomorrow afternoon, Ino should be awake, and I am going to consult with her and Naruto about this situation, basically leaving their fate in your hands. And you are going to be there. That is not a request. It is a God Damn Order! Now get out of my sight before I do something that I probably won't regret!" And with that she dropped the girl on her bottom and walked back to her desk.

Sakura merely stood up, bowed slightly to the Hokage, turned and left, never once looking back.

"_Well, look on the bright side. It could have been a hell of a lot worse than that." _Somehow, Inner Sakura's slightly optimistic view on the situation did not help much.

-Present Time-

"So you two finally got together, huh? Took you long enough." The sound of Yamanaka Inoria's voice could be heard clear as day from the hallway as the pair of medics made their way to Ino's room.

"Yeah, well while the circumstances definitely aren't ideal, I am glad the knucklehead finally found the courage to fess up, even if I kinda beat him to the punch." Ino's statement caused a small giggle to come from the younger sister.

"Beat him to the punch? You practically pounced him. I'm surprised you didn't suffocate him while you were at it." Inoria's voice then got pretty quiet just as Tsunade reached the door. "So did you guys...?"

"Oh, hell no. Of course not. Not even mentioning the fact that I had just recovered, this is a hospital. Do you really think I would want to have my first time in a damn hospital?"

"I would think not. Last thing I need is for the two of you disturbing the piece here." Both Yamanaka girls looked up in surprise as Tsunade walked in the door.

"Hello there Tsunade-sama. To what do I own this surprise visit?" Inoria looked like she was about to stand but the Hokage held up her hand, motioning for her to remain seated.

"A couple of things. First and foremost is to see how you are doing."

"I'm feeling pretty good now. Doc said I will have to convalesce for a week or so, so I might be spending more time at my mother's flower shop."

"Good to hear. Now to business. Where is the knucklehead at? There is something we need to talk about."

Inoria could feel that maybe this was a discussion she didn't need to be in and was about to stand and leave. "Inoria, you stay, too. Since you were involved I feel you deserve to have at least some sort of opinion in this."

Ino nodded her head, knowing where this was going. "He should be on his way back. He went to go buy me some takeout. Not that I don't trust the food here, just that I'm craving something in particular right now."

Tsunade had just enough time to nod her head a little bit before... "Hey, Ino. Got those dumplings you wanted." From the window came the blonde-haired mass of humanity named Uzumaki Naruto, carrying a bag with him. As he landed he realized that there were more people here than when he had left earlier. "Oii, baa-chan. You checking up on Ino?"

"That's part of it. Ok now that everyone's here let's get this over with." Stepping out of the doorway she turned to face it. "Someone has something they need to say to you all. Enter!" And from the doorway, Sakura came through, her head bent forward and her hair covering her eyes.

The atmosphere inside the room changed almost instantly. Ino's face grew neutral, as did Naruto's. Inoria, however, grew instantly angry, fist clenched at her sides, though for the moment she held it in as best as she could.

When Sakura spoke her voice was quiet, almost a whisper though loud enough for everyone to hear. "Inoria. I tried to use your being injured during the Chuunin exams against your sister. She may not have given me that thank you I thought I deserved for helping you, but I realize that I had really not done too much to deserve anything from her. I don't expect nor do I deserve an apology from you for hitting me yesterday. You were within your rights to do so. If it would make you feel any better to hit me again, then do so. But just know that I truly regret everything that I have done in the past 24 hours."

The next person she would address would be her former teammate. She had been dreading this since she found out she would be doing this yesterday. "Naruto. You were right. About everything. You have always been there for me. Even when I pushed you away you were always right there again, giving me support when I most needed it. Helping me deal with whatever came my way. Fulfilling your promises no matter what came at you. And I never once gave you a decent thank you. I know that whatever gratitude I give you now won't mean much but I will try to repay my debt to you. No matter how long it takes."

And now for the hard part. "Ino I-" SLAP! Her face was immediately turned to the right as Ino's open hand came across her left cheek. Sakura remained like that for a while before she turned back to face Ino.

"You awake yet?"

Sakura looked confused at first. Then she got slapped again.

"How about now?"

Sakura finally got the point and nodded her head slowly. "Yes. You were right. You were always right."

Ino took a long hard look at her, trying to discern whether or not she truly meant that. After what seemed like an eternity to Sakura... "Good. Then that's all I need to know."

Tsunade, satisfied with this spoke up again. "So, she says she is ready to change, but personally I don't know. I was considering just dismissing her from the ninja ranks entirely, but since I wasn't personally invested into this matter, I leave her fate in your hands." At this, Sakura sucked in a deep breath as she waited for their judgment.

Inoria, predictably, was all for that before she was stopped by her sister's voice. _"Inoria, stop. Are you thinking with a clear head right now?' Cause if you aren't then I can't allow you to speak up in this. Take a good look at Sakura and then rethink your decision."_ At first Inoria couldn't believe that Ino was actually vouching for the girl that had basically wanted to leave her for dead.

"_But sis-" _

"_No buts Inoria. Part of going up in the ranks includes being able to make sound and rational decisions. I admit that when it came to Sakura I don't think I've been setting the example for you very well, but I had a point to prove."_

Inoria still thought she wasn't worth the second look but still closed her eyes, took the deep breath, opened her eyes again, and looked at Sakura. And what she saw surprised her. She could tell just by the way she was holding herself up that she was not the same girl she had saw out there yesterday. She had not changed completely, but the signs were there.

"_Well, can I at least take her up on her offer? She did say that if I wanted to hit her again I could."_

A moment of silence. _"No. I think she's already taken enough of a beating for this." _Inoria could only sigh dejectedly

While this silent conversation was going on, the only male in the room was regarding Sakura with a far more objective eye than anyone would have given him credit for. Naruto, firm believer in second chances that he was, thought that becoming a civilian might be a little bit of a rough punishment for Sakura. As far as they had drifted apart over the last year, they had still been teammates at one point. Yes he had indeed blown up on her yesterday, and yes he meant every word of it, but as one of his first friends he couldn't just forget about her, right? Besides, she had healed Ino afterwards, and that combined with his earlier dump of his emotions on her had taken away most of the anger he had towards the woman. In his mind she deserved a second chance, a shot at possibly making things right between them. But that was just him, and it hadn't been his life on the line at the time. So he turned his head to Ino, nodding his head towards her, giving her the final say so.

Ino had not taken her eyes off of the girl, taking in every detail she could. The bruises on the cheeks, which had not been there yesterday during the memory she had seen in Naruto's mind, told here that she had indeed paid for it physically by the hands of the Hokage. Her clothing looked as if she had not undressed since yesterday. But her eyes told her something that she had wanted to know about the girl. "Go easy on her Hokage-sama. I think she has learned her lesson from all of this. I am fine and she has grown up a little finally."

The Hokage nodded her head and Sakura felt the urge to let out the breath she hadn't even realized she was holding, but waited on the Hokage's final word. "Then you shall remain a ninja of Konoha, though I will be demoting you down to Genin indefinitely. You will not be allowed outside of Konoha, which means you will only be participating in D-rank missions. And until I say otherwise, don't even think about participating in the Chuunin exams. Do you understand?"

What more could Sakura do other than nod her head? This was a far greater concession than she was expecting to receive. "Thank you, Tsunade-sama. And thank you all as well." She turned to leave the room, feeling that her presence was not required nor welcome in the hospital room anymore.

"Sakura."

The voice had surprised about everyone present, as Naruto had been silent throughout the entire meeting. Sakura had been just about to grasp the door handle when his voice froze her in her tracks. Slowly, she turned to face her former teammate. All eyes were now on the Kyubi container as he stepped forward, ready to address his former teammate.

"I really did mean everything I said yesterday. And while I am not nearly as angry as I was then, I doubt that this will be the end of it between us. You have quite a lot to make up for, and I don't know how long it will be before I can say that I can truly trust you again."

Sakura nodded dully at her former teammate. She had been expecting this. "I don't expect-" Naruto raised a hand to cut her off, effectively silencing her.

"Let me finish. But, I can also see that you do regret everything you have done, and I am not the type to hold a grudge forever. And before you get the idea in your head, Sasuke is a special case. One that I don't want to get into right now. So if you are serious about all of this, then maybe we can start over. Turn over a new leaf, so to speak. You are still a ninja of the Leaf after all, and I don't want us to leave here on a sour note. So what do ya say?" At this he held out his hand to the woman and cocked the corner of his mouth up just a tad. "Clean slate?"

Sakura stared at his hand for almost a minute. Just yesterday he was yelling and screaming at her about everything he had done for her. Everything she had failed to truly appreciate about him. And now here he was offering her something of a truce. A chance to wipe the record books and start over again. It was almost too good to be true. Which is why she was a little hesitant to take his hand.

Naruto saw this, and decided to prove he wanted this. "Tell you what. If it will help, I'll go and kick the teme's ass for dumping you like that."

And there it was again. Naruto, going out of his way for her again. Smiling slightly, she raised her hand and gripped his gently in it. "Clean slate."

-Next day-

Shikamaru knew something was wrong when the first person to say anything at his team's meeting that morning was someone other than Inoria.

He had indeed grown accustomed to the daily rituals that his team had gone through when they met up for the day's training or missions. He had usually arrived with Shikaru, the younger man mimicking his older cousin's actions almost perfectly. Chogun was usually next to follow, eating some form of snack food. And finally Inoria would come bounding in to the field in a somewhat vain attempt to pump up her two teammates and sensei for the day's activities. Depending on whatever mission they would receive she would either continue to try and raise the spirits of her teammates, or complain to her sensei that they had once again been shafted by receiving yet another D rank mission.

Yes he had gotten so used to it that it had almost seemed strange to see Inoria at their designated training area, waiting on the rest of them. The fact that she had been silent the entire time while they awaited the arrival of Chogun had set off the warning bells. It just didn't seem like her to be so… introverted. But the thing that sent his curiosity over the edge was when Shikaru had given one of his sarcastic remarks to her and the only reaction she gave was a slight jump, as if she was only just now realizing that her teammates were there. And as the good sensei she had wanted him to be, he decided to investigate a little bit. "Shika, Chogun, you two play a little Shogi for now. I have something I need to discuss with Inoria." At the sound of her name, Inoria had nodded her head to him. As soon as he had bounded off away from the other two, Inoria was on his tail, and 5 minutes later he stopped and motioned for her to sit down. "Alright, what's on your mind?"

Inoria had learned long ago that it was impossible to try and hide anything from her sensei. He was just too damn perceptive, even for her. So taking a deep breath she started out with a question. "Sensei, what do you think of us as a team?"

Shikamaru showed no signs of being even somewhat in the least surprised by her question. Didn't mean he wasn't. "Personally, I think you have room for improvement, but you are still better than most of the teams I have seen so far. What brought this up?"

Inoria looked her sensei in the eye. "You already know about what happened during my B-Ranked mission right?"

Shikamaru nodded solemnly. He had gotten the word of the mission from the Hokage and Ino herself yesterday when he went to visit, though Ino had given him all of the juicy details.

"Well, I was thinking about a lot last night and I think that maybe I'm focusing too much on me and my training, and not enough on my own team. I mean you look and Naruto-nii-san's team. Naruto was trained on and off by Kakashi-sensei, Jiraiya-sama, and various other ninjas throughout his career. Sakura had been trained by the Hokage. Sasuke had gone off to find that snake bastard to train with him. All of them became very powerful ninjas in their own right, while basically dropping their title as a team. While you, Ino-onee-san, and Choji-san-"

"Stop right there." Shikamaru stopped her with an extended hand. He could see the direction that this conversation was going and didn't think it would do to have his star pupil beginning to doubt herself. That would be even more troublesome than if she were her usual self. "Look, while it is true that your teammates are a vital part of your growth as a ninja, they won't always be there. Or rather, you won't always be with the same team every time. So in that essence, yes getting stronger on your own is necessary. However, don't confuse that with forsaking your abilities to work as a team. The only reason Sakura, Naruto, and Sasuke failed, quite spectacularly in my mind, was because of a few reasons that had nothing to do with their abilities to work together. The reason that me, Ino, and Choji are still really good teammates is because we know how to work together, not only within ourselves, but with other groups. We can take what we learn elsewhere and bring it back to our team, and get stronger from it.

"Granted, it also helps if you know how to work together from that start, a trait that Naruto's team did not pick up on after the academy. From what I can recall it was mainly just a competition between Sasuke and Naruto, with Sakura playing the mediator, albeit a one sided one."

Inoria listened intently as Shikamaru spoke, puzzling out how what he was saying should apply to her. "So it's ok if I want to get stronger on my own, so long as I try to incorporate my team into it."

"That's one way of looking at it. Don't get too comfortable, but don't forget your friends. They are there for you as much as you are for them."

Nodding her head, she stood up and slapped her face a couple of times. "Baka-sensei, starting right now I want us to start from the beginning. Teamwork building exercises and all of that. And give us as many D-rank missions as you can. I don't want to even consider another C-rank mission until you think we are up to standards as a team. Got it?" Turning back to where they had come from, without even waiting for an answer, she darted off in the direction of Shikaru and Chogun.

"Sorry about this boys, but trust me. This will be best for both of you."

-2 Months later-

"Ok, ready when you are Naruto."

Tenten stood in the middle of Team Seven's old training ground, eyes covered by her hitae-ate. Her hands were hovering just slightly over her weapons scrolls, ready to move at a moment's notice. She was ready to begin this very unique training session, which could only be conducted between a ninja that pushed his or her skills as far beyond their limits as she did and her current training partner.

It had been about 2 months since Naruto had discovered her new training regimen, and to say that she had improved since then would have been putting it modestly, though Tenten was perfectly willing to leave it at that. She had begun to experiment with moving targets a few days after Naruto had spoken to her, getting the village carpenter to build her a mechanism that made the targets move around her in a circle and pop up at random. It cost her a pretty penny, but it was definitely worth every single bit of money she paid for it. She was only missing one or two targets after the first day, and none on the third.

The next obstacle, however, would prove to be a difficult one for her to figure out, as she now had to figure out how to hit targets that were A. not on ground level, and B. moving in different, random directions. She spent three days fussing over this little problem before she finally caught up with Naruto during one of his visits to Ino's flower shop. After a quick catch up session where Tenten discussed her training plan, and informing them of the roadblock she had hit, Naruto immediately offered his clones to help. Tenten almost did two things just then. The first was slap herself for not thinking about this sooner. The second was kiss Naruto right then and there. Restraining herself she gratefully accepted his offer.

For the first day of this new session, Naruto used one clone, jumping up and down between the trees and the ground while moving in a circle around Tenten, while Tenten stood there and tried to get a handle on how to properly locate the clone. Once she was sure she was ready she started trying to hit the clone, and while it took her nearly the entire day, she finally managed to get consecutive hits on his clone.

Day two, however, began a much more challenging test of her skills. Naruto made his clone now change direction randomly. After the first day of not being able to pin him down, Tenten began to think of how to figure out when his clone changed direction and which direction it went, she was finally able to draw inspiration from a basic fighting rule.

In any fight, your opponents feet will usually tell you what your opponent is about to do, and this would be no different. Only instead of watching, she would have to listen. It took her a few days to figure out what to listen for but she finally figured it out. The time between his feet hitting the ground and leaving it again told her his speed. The time that his foot dragged on the ground whenever he was changing direction told her which direction he was going. The different pitches in his footsteps told her how far away he was. It took another few days to put it all together in order to pick him off while he was on the run, but eventually she had hit him enough times that she was ready to move up to the next level. Multiple targets.

This became even more of a challenge for her. Now she couldn't focus on just one target, as another could possibly sneak in behind her for an easy kill. A lesson she learned the hard way during her very first session. To adjust, she simply waited, opening her ears, and listened for the correct combination of sounds that would allow her to pick off a clone. It took some time but once she cleared out a few groups it started to come naturally for her and she was able to clear the entire group in fewer seconds then there were clones. At first Naruto would create a group of three to five clones and let her work. Once she had that down she suggested immediately replacing a clone as soon as it was "killed". This way, she could increase her endurance, increase the speed in which she cleared out a large group of clones without overcrowding the training area, and train her to tune her senses in to the whole field instead of zoning in on the clones she had left.

The final step of her training was undoubtedly the easiest. Firing while dodging. For this she had Naruto use dummy kunai and through it at her while she attempted to dodge and fire back. This was another interesting sound to try and tune in; the sound of a kunai flying through the air. But she picked it up in less than a day and by the end of that day, she was dodging kunai and firing them back with needlepoint precision.

And now, Tenten was prepared for her final exam. Her audience consisted of Kiba, Ino, and Akamaru, with Naruto acting as training partner.

"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" Ten Naruto's appeared in a circle around Tenten, while the original would step back to give her room while still providing clones throughout the exercise. "Ok Tenten. Ready? GO!"

All at once the clones started moving, some jumping into the trees, others remaining on the ground, but all of them circling Tenten in random directions.

Tenten waited only 2 seconds before moving, firing off a shuriken at a clone that was coming down from a tree limb. His replacement clone had only just popped into existence when another one was felled. It eventually got to the point where Tenten was killing off clones faster than Naruto could create them. Grinning slightly Naruto then created and entire hoard of clones, with only fifteen of them moving. Even with the increased numbers Tenten was not slowed. She continued her killing spree as if she were still only facing down three clones. Naruto then upped the ante, sending one in with dummy kunai. He shouldn't have bothered. It only got one shot off before it two was taken out by a senbon needle between the eyes. This went on for another ten minutes. Naruto continually upping the ante, Tenten meeting his challenges easily, before Naruto allowed the rest of his clones to be taken out. Once the last clone was gone Naruto called it to a halt. Great work Tenten. Looks like you've mastered it now. !00% accuracy."

Tenten removed her slightly damp headband from her eyes, wiping the rest of the loose sweat from her face before moving over to Naruto and meeting his raised hand in a high five. "I would think so too. It's just like regular fighting for me now. Once I find my rhythm I just let my body take over."

Ino and Kiba walked up to the two, while Akamaru tackled Tenten to the ground, licking her face furiously. Kiba spoke up first. "While not as boisterously as Akamaru, I second that motion. You really impressed me out there Ten-chan."

Ino moved up besides Naruto, interlocking her arm with his. "Me too. I can't wait to see how you do out in the field."

Tenten, finally saved from the tongue lashing she was getting from Akamaru, stood and looked to her friends. "Thank you all. Especially you Naruto. If it weren't for you I don't know what I would have done. None of this wouldn't have been possible without your help."

Naruto, slightly embarrassed, scratched the back of his head lightly. 'It was nothing. Were friends right? Makes sense that we want to help each other out."

Kiba was next to speak, though his next words were pretty obvious thanks to the low grumble from his stomach. "Ok, who's hungry?"

Before anyone could answer Lee appeared in the training ground. "Ah, good. Both of you are here. Tenten-san, Naruto-kun, Hokage-sama has requested you both for a mission."

"About damn time!" Obviously Naruto was excited about this announcement. He had not been given an official mission since the Sound Army mission. "What the hell has baa-chan been doing all this time?"

"Tenten, finally used to this behavior from the male blonde of her team, decided to try and calm her teammate down before he lost his head. "Ok, ok, try not to blow a gasket. Let's go see what she has for us."

-Hokage's Office-

"Oi, baa-cha-" Naruto barely got those words out before Tsunade nearly bit his head off.

"Naruto, if you know what's good for you, you will shut up right now!" Of course, he shut up.

"I have an emergency mission for the three of you. Tenten, you will be in charge here."

Lee, glad to be working with his former teammate and rival again, turned to his appointed leader. "I will do my best to make you proud Tenten. And if you are in any way dissatisfied with my performance I will do 300 laps around Konoha."

Tenten simply smiled to him before turning her attention back to the Hokage, wary of starting and side conversations right now. Not after the Hokage stopped Naruto dead in his tracks.

"Failure in this mission is not an option. Even if you die. Your mission: Retrieve the daughter of the Fire Daimyo from a group of rogue ninjas that kidnapped her."

This announcement caused a collective gasp to escape the lips of Naruto and Tenten. Lee simply turned to Tenten again, and in his most serious tone possible, said, "On my hands." This announcement caused a collective sweat drop to appear on the heads of the other three ninjas present.

Tsunade coughed twice before continuing on. "The Hidden Leaf's relationship with the Hidden Sand has caused the Daimyos of our countries to begin talks of a possible alliance. After many talks between the two, they have agreed to a marriage between their respective children, the Fire Daimyo's daughter Setsuna, and the Wind Daimyo's son Kanda. Two days ago, Setsuna and two squads of the royal guard set off to the Wind Country capital. They never even made it out of Fire Country. When guards at the checkpoint reported that they had not seen the carriage, or any of the guards or Setsuna, they were told to investigate. They would find the carriage, as well as Setsuna's entire escort dead on the side of the road, the cause of which being a yet to be identified poison. A note was left inside the carriage, demanding that the Fire Daimyo come to the location disclosed on this note with 200,000,000 ryo. He has until noon two days from now and is to come alone. The location has already been identified as an abandoned building. The Fire Daimyo has been gracious enough to provide us with the plans for the building as well." Tsunade handed the folded paper to Tenten, who immediately sealed it on a blank scroll for later review. "If the delivery is not made by noon two days from now, if neither the Fire Daimyo nor the money is there, or if they see anyone else besides the Daimyo, then Setsuna's body will be delivered to the capital. In a casket. The Daimyo has personally asked for the group that was responsible for the completion of the Sound Army mission, and Lee has been asking for more missions, which is why you three are gathered here. You already know your time limit. Leave as soon as possible."

"If I may ask Tsunade-sama, why are we only just now finding out about this? You said she was kidnapped two days ago. At the latest this should have gotten to us yesterday morning." Tenten was the one who spoke up, and considering how she was last time Tsunade gave her a mission briefing, the Goodtime was surprised.

"The Daimyo had to be careful about how he got us this message. He wasn't sure if the capital was under surveillance by whoever is responsible so this was delivered under the disguise of a merchant from the capital. Anything else?"

This time Naruto raised his hand. "Do you have a picture of her? Don't wanna save the wrong person by accident." Two seconds later he felt two sets of eyes on him and turned to his teammates. "What? It's happened to me before."

Tsunade couldn't help but shake her head, remembering exactly what he was talking about. She reached into the small envelope she had received from him and placed it on her desk, facing them. "She shouldn't be too hard to miss."

That was an understatement. Dressed in a midnight blue kimono with yellow flowers all over it was a very beautiful young woman with pure ebony hair that went to her waist. Her figure was one that could rival any supermodel in existence. But if one were asked what her most defining feature was just off of this picture alone, it would be her smile. If a smile could heal, hers could cure cancer.

"Wow, you weren't kidding, Hokage-sama." Tenten was the first to speak up, clearly impressed by the girl's looks.

"You got that right. There isn't a single straight guy in this world that wouldn't fantasize about her, and I am one of them." Naruto would soon come to regret those words when a female voice in the back of his mind said, _"I heard that."_

Lee had spent an entire minute just staring at the picture, not saying a word. "Tenten had begun to get a little worried about him, but before she could so much as open her mouth, he turned to her, hands at his sides, eyes locked with hers, and barked out, "Backwards!"

-End-

Inspiration is a weird thing. It can strike at the weirdest of times. As such, here I was looking into KaizokuHime when this little bit of storytelling clamped on tight to me and just would not let me go.

I know a lot of you have been waiting on this, and I am sorry for the delay. I have then next chapter in writing, but it still needs a lot of work. I hope this holds you over until then.

R&R&have a nice day.


	20. Tenten to One Odds

-Chapter 16-

After being dismissed from Tsunade's office, Tenten gave her team an hour to prepare for the mission. Both she and Naruto would need this break since neither of them had eaten after their little training exhibition, and Tenten would need to resupply. They would meet up at the front gate once they were ready.

Unsurprisingly, Lee was already there when she arrived. Just as unsurprisingly, he was passing the time by doing thumb pushups. Naruto was also there, though he was talking with Kiba and Ino. Once she joined up with the group she found out that Ino had caught up with Naruto after they had split from the Hokage tower. He told her about the mission and she went to go find Kiba so they could see them off at the gate. Once Kiba saw Tenten coming he immediately broke from the group to greet her.

"So, you are gonna be team leader this time. This will be your first time leading a mission since you joined the Anbu, and the first time that Kiba won't be there with you. I know how much he has been helping you, but now you won't have his experience to fall back on. You gonna be ok out there?" Ino spoke once Kiba released Tenten from his hug. She remembered, quite clearly, how nervous Tenten was during their last mission together. In her mind, this was probably a little unfair of Tsunade to put the girl in this position right now, but there was nothing she could do about it now.

To her surprise, as well as Kiba's, Tenten just smiled. "I sure am. I think I took a page out of Naruto's book because I am actually pretty excited about this. Besides, I'm heading out there with a couple of familiar faces."

Kiba's surprised face quickly broke out into a smile as he wrapped Tenten up in a big hug from behind. "It's like you said. You just needed a little bit more confidence in your already phenomenal abilities. You were already the best weapons user in Konoha, and now you are about 20 or 30 steps above everyone with that blindfolded demonstration."

Tenten smiled warmly at him, but the moment was lost when Lee announced, "Tenten-san, it's time to go."

Tenten nodded and removed herself from Kiba's arms. "Hey Tenten, what's up with Lee? I mean, I understand it's an important mission but-" Before Kiba could finish, Tenten pulled out the picture of Setsuna and showed it to Kiba. "Never mind."

Putting the picture away, she gave Kiba a quick peck on his cheek. "Ok, you hold down the fort for me alright? If I come back and Konoha is in ruins I'm coming straight for you, got it?"

"Don't worry about it. You are leaving the village in good claws." He gave her one more hug before letting her go.

"Keep yourself safe, baka. You still owe Inoria a B class mission, and I don't want to be there when she finds out you can't deliver." Ino smiled a little at that, leaving him with a playful slap to his head and, mirroring Tenten, a kiss on his cheek.

Naruto simply scoffed and stepped off. "Like I'd let anything keep me from keeping my promise to her. She would kill me, and then you would bring me back and kill me." He waved to Kiba before heading to the gates.

Ino looked over to Lee as he prepared to join his team for this mission. "Hey, be careful out there. And watch out for my idiot ok?"

Lee gave her a friendly smile and said, "You don't have to worry about that. From what I heard, Naruto-kun may be the one who watches out for me."

Once Lee joined Naruto and Tenten, they all nodded once to each other before taking off.

Back at the gates, Kiba had turned to Ino. "You have to admit, the Daimyo has quite the looker for a daughter."

Ino simply smiled, and before Kiba could ask what she was smiling about, a small, familiar voice in the back of his head said, _"I heard that."_

Ino noticed the confused look on his face and smiled evilly. "I had nothing but time on my hands these last couple of months so I was improving some of my mind jutsu. Now if I mind tag multiple people, everyone who is mind tagged can share thoughts. And since whatever you say has to come from your mind, well you can see where I'm going with this. No, I don't mind tag everyone, and no I don't have you mind tagged all the time. But after a similar exchange with Naruto while they were in Tsunade-sama's office, I decided to test you."

Two words left Kiba's mouth as he turned to leave. "You suck."

-8 Hours Later-

After getting quite the decent start on their journey, mainly thanks to Lee and Naruto's seemingly inexhaustible stamina as well as Tenten's increased stamina due to her recent training (though it still nowhere near matched her teammates), Tenten called a halt so they could have a quick rest, allowing them to grab a quick bite to eat, as well as allow Tenten to check their map and make sure that they were heading in the right direction. She would also, quite forcefully, ensure that Lee would not do any excessive training during this break. They still had at the most a day's travel left before they would reach their destination. This would be good though because this would allow them to perform the rescue under the cover of night.

Throughout the break, Tenten had noticed that, while Lee had been very much as jittery as she expected him to be from her utter denial of him doing any sort of hard training while they were on break, Naruto was strangely silent, almost lost in thought. It seemed somewhat strange to see her teammate so introverted, and decided to test the waters a little bit. "Hey Naruto, what's on your mind?"

Not expecting anyone to speak to him, Naruto's head immediately shot up, his face holding quite the surprised look. "Huh?"

Now Tenten knew something was off. "What is it Naruto? You aren't usually this lost in thought, and when you are it's usually something serious. At least to you it is. So what's up?"

Naruto calmed a little bit and then sighed. "Well, everyone knows about how much I wanted to be Hokage. I yelled it out enough times when we were little." Tenten's eyebrows shot up a little during his statement. _'Wanted?' _"Well lately, I've been considering it a little bit more seriously and now I am not sure if it's what I really want."

"What do you mean Naruto-kun?" Lee, bored with not being able to do much else joined in the conversation, taking a seat next to Tenten, whose eyebrows were now furrowed slightly in confusion.

"Well back when I was still a Genin- Hell, even before I joined the academy, I had this vision about what the Hokage is, what the Hokage does, based on what I heard. The Hokage is the strongest ninja in the village and protects its people, civilian and ninja alike. Because of the way the people treated me thanks to the Kyubi, I thought that if I became Hokage then whether or not the people liked me, they would have no choice but to accept the fact that I am the one protecting them. I wanted my face on the monument so that everyone would know that it was me, the village pariah, the dead last in his class, that eventually became the leader and protector of this village.

"Now? I see Baa-chan almost every day and have begun to see what she does on a daily basis. Most of the time she doesn't even leave the office. I get bored and frustrated if I don't get a mission within at least a couple weeks. I don't think I could handle just sitting there in the office, doing paperwork, and sending out other ninjas to do missions that I would rather do myself. Besides, I already have the recognition of most of the villagers and ninjas thanks to the sound army, Thanks in part to me, we are great allies with Gaara and the Hidden Sand, most of my exploits up until now have given me the support of quite a few influential people, and who knows how well known my name will be once we retrieve the Daimyo's daughter. I don't need recognition anymore, and I don't want to be sitting on my ass all day, bored out of my mind, while the rest of you get to go out on missions."

Tenten's face quickly changed from confusion to understanding, and she voiced this understanding. "So you liked the idea of being Hokage because of what it meant, but now that you are making a name for yourself on your own, without needing to be Hokage, you are starting to wonder if it will be worth it at all."

"That sounds about right."

"So what would happen if Tsunade-sama was to retire right now, and she named you to be the Rokudaime? Would you accept, or ask her to find someone else?"

He had to think about that one for a good minute before answering. "At this point, if there is someone in the village worthy of being Hokage then I would be all for letting them take it. But would that be right? I mean, doesn't that sound a little selfish of me?"

Tenten wasn't entirely sure how to answer that. Fortunately, she didn't have to. "Naruto-kun." Both of the Anbu members turned to look at the green clad ninja, who had paused for a moment to consider his next words. "If someone were to find a way to fix my chakra coils, allowing me to perform ninjutsu and genjutsu, I think I would still only use taijutsu and weapons. Even if they told me that it would help me more to diversify myself, I would still not use them. I think I would even refuse the procedure entirely. I prefer using only my taijutsu because that is what I want to do. You say that you think it is selfish of you to not want to be Hokage even if you are the most qualified to do so, but I do not think so. It is your life, so it is your choice how you want to live it. Be Hokage, be Anbu, be a Jounin instructor, it doesn't matter what you want to be, so long as it is what you want to do."

While Naruto let this tumble around in his head for a minute, Tenten turned to her original teammate with a look of wonder. It wasn't every day that Lee would be the one to provide some enlightening advice, and even less often that he would find a way to use his own disability to help inspire others this way. Apparently though, it worked perfectly because Naruto smiled after a minute of thinking. "You're right. I enjoy missions, I enjoy training, and I already take an active role in protecting the village as I do now." Standing up he slapped his face a couple of times and then faced his friends. 'Thanks guys. I really needed that."

Lee and Tenten stood as well, smiling and nodding their heads at him, Tenten speaking up after nodding. "Good, because no matter how much you needed it I wasn't gonna let Lee give you that kick in the ass that you wanted from Kiba."

Naruto laughed a little at that. Lee looked confused, and Tenten leaned over and said, "Inside joke." After Lee nodded his understanding, Tenten finished the last bite of her ration bar, and then said, "Ok, let's get moving. We still have a lot of ground to cover, but if we continue at the pace we were moving and limit the amount of breaks we take, we should get there with more than enough time to rest up before nightfall."

"Hai!" Lee and Naruto spoke in unison, and after a quick area clean up, they were off.

"Naruto-kun, Tenten-san," Lee spoke to both of his partners in mid leap as they were moving through the trees. Tenten was right. At the pace they were moving it would be about a few hours before sunset before they would reach the building, and they were almost 30 minutes away from there now. Both of them turned to him to see what was on his mind. "I've been wanting to ask this for a while now. Just how did you guys beat the sound army? I haven't heard any details about it yet and to be honest, it's been on my mind since I found out about it."

Naruto nodded his head and turned to the front so he could watch where he was going while he explained. "Well, think of it this way. If you walk up to someone and hit them as hard as you can when they aren't even expecting to fight anyone at that point in time, they are going to be a little disoriented. Then you just keep on hitting them, not even giving them a chance to recover or fight back. That's basically what we did. We snuck into the base unnoticed and once we were inside we just hit them as hard as we could and kept on hitting. Pretty disorienting when you are suddenly invaded by hundreds of Kage Bunshin from within your own base."

"I see. But it was just the four of you-"

"Five of us." Tenten corrected him immediately.

"Five of-? Oh, Akamaru, right? Ok, well using your analogy, Naruto-kun, that same fight was more like someone like Ino or her sister getting into a taijutsu match with Tsunade-sama or Gai-sensei. No matter how hard you hit them, they will be able to weather your blows until you wear yourself out."

"True. And towards the end of the fight that's what happened." Tenten picked up the explanation at that point. "Kiba, Ino, and I were running low on chakra and there were still a decent number of ninjas left to kill, most of them elites. Naruto was still able to go on, so he told Kiba to cut a path out of the base for him, me, and Ino to escape."At this Lee's head snapped over to Naruto, wondering if he had let the adrenaline get to his head during that fight. "I know, we all thought the same thing. But he persisted, saying something about needing us to be as far away as we can for what he was about to do. Ino told Kiba to do it and we didn't question it after that. When we came back the next day, after we were sure the battle was over, and it looked like something out of a horror movie. Body parts were everywhere, blood coated the ground, and there was Naruto, sleeping under a tree." After a couple of seconds Tenten giggled a little bit, causing Lee to look over at her confused, one of his ridiculously proportioned eyebrows raised above the other. "Before we left Konoha, Naruto promised us that we were all going to come back alive, even if he had to carry us all back on his back. He was so out of it after that battle that Kiba had to carry him back. Needless to say, Kiba didn't appreciate that much."

Lee nodded with a laugh of his own. Then he grew serious for a moment and turned back to Naruto. "How did you do it? How could you have possibly killed the rest of them on your own?"

Interestingly enough from Tenten's perspective, Naruto didn't even have to think about his next words. Apparently, after his confession to Kiba and her, it had started to come naturally to him. "The Kyubi. The Yondaime didn't kill it. He sealed it inside of someone. Me."

Lee nearly missed his next step, but recovered enough to remember that they were still moving. His face had taken on a look of complete shock but he didn't slow down or change his pace. He then looked over to his female teammate after remaining silent for a few minutes. "You know as well?"

Tenten nodded her head once. "While everyone who was old enough to understand what the Kyubi was when he attacked knows this, of the younger generations, only me, you, Kiba, Ino, Sakura, and Sasuke know."

Lee then looked forward for what must have been an eternity for Naruto, while Tenten looked at Lee, worried about what his reaction would be. "I am glad that you have entrusted me with this secret my rival, but you still have not answered my question."

Tenten let out quite possibly the biggest sigh of relief she had even let out, while Naruto couldn't help but smile at his friend. "Well, the furball and I have made a bit of a compromise. As long as he doesn't try to force his way through the seal, occasionally I will allow him to take control of our body, letting him kill off whoever he wants in the immediate area. The issue with that is he doesn't discriminate between friend and foe so I have to make sure it is just me and whoever it is I want to kill before I release him."

Tenten nodded her head. He had yet to bestow this piece of knowledge upon her and Kiba. Judging by Ino's actions, she was sure that she knew already, but she would ask anyway.

Lee would nod as well. "An interesting little contract you have forged with the demon. One that unfortunately will not do us much good with the task we will need to accomplish."

"True." Tenten spoke up next. "Lee, listen carefully. There is a law that was put into place by the Sandaime that strictly prohibits anyone who knows about the Kyubi from telling anyone who doesn't. Naruto is the only exception due to the fact that he is its container"

"Hai! I understand completely, Tenten-san. I promise that until Naruto-kun does so, I will not speak of the Kyubi to anyone who doesn't know."

"Good, thank you Lee." Tenten made sure to cut Lee off before he went off on another one of his Gai-sensei inspired tangents.

"Ok guys, time to get back to business. There's the building." Naruto's voice caught the attention of the two other ninja's and they looked forward, and sure enough there was the building that Setsuna was supposed to be in, along with her kidnappers.

A quick hand sign by Tenten and all three of them immediately dropped from the trees, the bushes easily concealing them from sight. Tenten unsealed the building plans from one of her storage scrolls and laid them out for all of them to see.

"Ok, first thing we need to know about this building is that what we see now is just the top floor of the building. It continues underground for another three floors. The first two basement floors look like they were used as some sort of office space, while the last floor is mostly empty. If I had to guess, I would say they are keeping Setsuna on the bottom floor. If they keep her in the center of the room, it will make it that much harder to get to her without being seen. On the east and west sides of the building there are elevators, which may or may not work anymore depending upon how old this place is and if it was renovated or repaired over time, and staircases that run all the way down to the bottom floor. As you can imagine, there are no windows on any of the basement floors so those are our only options for getting down there. As for getting in to the building, as you can plainly see none of the doors or windows on the top floor have been repaired, probably to dissuade passersby from getting suspicious of any activity going on in the building. Getting in will be easy, getting to the girl will be difficult, getting out with her will be trouble, and doing all of this will trying not to alert anyone will be next to impossible."

Lee periodically nodded his head at appropriate points in the explanation, while Naruto was listening to her with a look of wonder. She had definitely gotten over her previous nervousness, no question about it. Her assessment of the enemy base of operations was almost as impressive as one of Ino's. Now all she needed to do was add in a little bit of humor here and there and she would be perfect. "Ok, then give me a little time. I can send in a few clones to scout ahead and see if we can find out how many of them there are, and if there are any holes in their guard."

Tenten nodded her head. "OK, good. We still have plenty of time before it gets dark so we will go ahead and sleep until then. Can you receive updates from your clones while you sleep?"

His face took on a bit of an intuitive look on it as he thought about her question. "Not sure. Never tried that before. Hmm, I suppose I could leave another clone here while the others scout around. I can dispel him when we wake up and he can also keep an eye out in case someone comes."

"Sounds good to me. Let's get some rest. We might have a long night ahead of us." After Naruto created the required clones, they each found a comfortable spot to curl up and went to sleep.

6 hours later, Tenten's silent alarm woke her up, and with a few quick taps her teammates were up as well. The clone Naruto had put on watch duty dispelled itself and after a few moments, he began his report.

Top floor's empty. Boat load of traps though. Even if someone got suspicious, unless they were a ninja I doubt they wouldn't have survived. My clones managed to disarm them before they moved on. Good thing too, since even if they didn't kill us, the noise would have alerted the ninjas. The staircase on the west side is blocked off, and I'm pretty sure that they did that recently since none of the wood looks as old as the building. Same thing for the east side staircase going down and it zigzags all the way down. There is a guard at each staircase, and it is pretty well lit down there. No power lines though, so they must have gotten the power going again.

"The first and second basement floors are where the ninjas are mustered. Lots of them too. Obviously, the crisscrossing staircases were intentional, because there is no way we are using the stairs to get down there. Two of my clones got into the elevator shafts. The elevators are at the bottom floor, and my clones were gracious enough to disengage the locks on the doors. I've had to deal with elevators before, and I learned a little bit about them after about 5 times. No surveillance cameras. Three guards are on the bottom floor. Like you said, bottom floor is empty, save for a chair. Take a guess at who is occupying that chair. The guards change shifts every 2 hours. We have maybe half an hour before the next shift change."

Tenten allowed herself to remain silent after Naruto finished his speech, contemplating how they could get in and out with the girl. _'Wish Ino were here. She makes this look so easy.' _Unbidden, memories of their mission to the Sound Army base came back, as well as Naruto's decision to throw stealth out the window. And a thought crossed her head. "I think I have an idea. It's not the sanest plan I have ever thought of, but with you two here it just might work. "

After hearing the plan, Lee's eyes were wide with something akin to wonder, while Naruto started to stifle his laughter. "It's official. You have definitely been hanging around me way too much. There's no way in hell that pre-Anbu you would ever even consider a plan like this."

"Well, pre-Anbu me never really thought you could pull something like this off, but now that I have firsthand experience with you and impossible situations, I am more than willing to entertain and idea as ridiculous as this."

Lee had started to giggle a little bit at this, obviously entertained by the two ninjas' antics. "Tenten-san, is it always like this with you and the rest of your team?"

"Pretty much, and you can thank this idiot for it." For about half a second, Naruto attempted to feign looking hurt at her statement, but failed miserable and just scoffed. "Ok, we make our move in 45 minutes. Last chance for a bathroom break. Oh, and Lee, because of the sensitivity of this I would prefer that you take your weights off now."

To say that Lee looked overjoyed at this would be about the same as saying Lee had unique eyebrows. It was so obvious that it practically went without saying.

After their prescribed wait time had ended, Lee, Naruto, and Tenten headed into the top floor of the building. From there, they broke off. Tenten, along with two of Naruto's clones, headed to the elevator shaft, Naruto transformed into a bug so he could head down the boarded off stairway, and Lee headed to the open one.

As Naruto had said, the door of the elevator slid open easily, though Naruto's first clone opened it very slowly to avoid any unnecessary noise, and only opened it enough for him, the other clone, and Tenten to pass through one at a time.

Once In the shaft it was a simple walk down the wall to the elevator car, then in through the emergency hatch on the roof of the car. As soon as all three were inside Tenten activated her communicator and said, "Tenten, in position."

From the other end of the line, Lee spoke just as silently as she did. "Same here. Naruto has two minutes to get into position before we start."

Tenten nodded her head. Since he was transformed, Naruto wouldn't be able to use his communicator right now, which was why she had brought an extra clone with her. As soon as the time came, the clone would dispel, and Naruto would know it was time to start the plan.

One minute and thirty seconds later, she was starting to fidget with her scrolls a little too much, but not in fear. In anticipation. She was ready, she knew it. Taking a deep breath she calmed herself a little bit, not wanting to get too excited. Fifteen seconds later, the other clone took his position at the door, cracking it slightly so he could get a good grip in the doors, ready to throw them open.

Tenten crouched down and began to count down. "Go. Yon. San. Ni. Ichi." Starting with the second clone's sudden disappearance a few things happened at once.

The first clone threw open the door and bent down low, allowing Tenten to leap over him into the room.

Lee, with his now fully constructed staff, leaped into the first basement floor from the open staircase leading to the top floor, taking out the guard as he did.

From the other end of the same floor, a cockroach suddenly transformed into a blonde haired, blue eyed, whisker faced ninja, who proceeded to send the guard all the way to the other end of the room courtesy of a Rasengan.

The horde on ninja's on the first basement floor, too surprised by the sudden attack to really do anything for the first few seconds, started to grab whatever weapons were closest to them in order to begin the counterattack.

The horde on the second basement floor, hearing the commotion, stared moving immediately, most of them going to see what the problem was, while the rest of the ninja's, numbering 25 heading down the stairs to the bottom floor, in case this was a ninja attack and the commotions was just a distraction.

The guards on the bottom floor did nothing. They had just enough time to recognize that the ninja coming in through the elevator was not one of their group before all three of them crumpled to the ground thanks to a kunai, a shuriken, and a senbon needle, each to the head of each ninja.

Once they were dealt with Tenten hurried over to the occupied chair in the middle of the room. The girl was dressed rather conservatively, in a simple kimono that most commoners wore. Tenten assumed that she was dressed this way by her kidnappers to keep her from being automatically identified while they were transporting her. Currently she was staring down at the recently deceased ninja to her right, a look of disgust on her face. "Serve's you right." Looking to her rescuer she calmed slightly. "You are a Konoha ninja, right?"

Tenten nodded her head. "My name is Tenten. I have been sent here by the Hokage at the personal request of your father to rescue you, Setsuna."

Setsuna nodded as Tenten used a kunai to cut the ropes binding her to the chair. Flexing her now free limbs, as well as rubbing her now bruised wrists, she started to stand and speak, but froze all of the sudden. Tenten noticed that she was starring past her and smiled. "Don't worry. I was expecting company about now anyway." Tenten turned to face the group of 25 ninjas that had come down to prevent her rescue. Frowning, Tenten sighed. "I was expecting more of you."

One of them chuckled lightly. "We will be more than enough to kill you." At that they all moved to surround the two females, each one of them taking out weapons.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you. After all, as close as Setsuna is to me right now, you wouldn't want to risk accidentally taking out your hostage, would you?" _'Definitely need to talk to Ino. That was way harder than I thought it would be.' _It was a bluff, and it definitely was one she hoped they wouldn't call her out on. Fortunately, they seemed to buy it and didn't look that eager to rush things just yet.

"What will you do? You can't escape with her. And even with your little surprise attack I doubt whoever is up there will survive, much less be in any shape to help you."

Tenten wasn't really listening to him. She was currently counting the number of lights in the room, as well as making sure she could hit them all fast enough. "Setsuna, when I tell you to, I want you to drop to the ground as fast as you can and stay there. Don't move, don't speak, and try to keep your breathing as quiet as you can. Understood?" After a minute of no answer, Tenten reached back to grasp the young woman's hand. "Don't worry; well make it out of here. I don't plan on letting you out of my sight until you are in your father's arms." Her reassurance worked, and she received a small, but determined, "Hai," from Setsuna.

After one last look around, as ensuring she had the proper number of kunai ready she screamed, "NOW!" Setsuna dropped and 7 Kunai flew into the air. Once second later the lights were out. The kidnappers, not sure what else to do, started to throw weapons at where Tenten was. Some collided with other weapons and clattered on the ground. Others were not so luck and flew across the room striking down the ninjas in their path. Once Tenten was sure that there were no more weapons being thrown she stood up and attempted to reassess her situation. Throughout all of the clatter and screaming and yelling for them to stop throwing, she could tell that at least 5 of the 23 that had shown up were dead, with just as many probably injured. Smiling slightly, she took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and opened her ears.

Almost a full minute later, "Oi, is she de-" His question would never finish exiting his mouth as he suddenly went silent, save for the small thump of his body hitting the ground.

"Oi! What hap-" And just like that, two of them were done. Some of the ninjas learned from the first two's mistakes and immediately went silent. The rest apparently figured there was some kind of demon at work here and immediately started to run away. One by one they all fell. By the end of that round, Tenten estimated that there were probably about 9 healthy ninjas left. A small cough later, and that number dropped to eight.

Three of the eight ninjas all decided to move at once, one directly behind her and one to her right jumping towards her, while one in front of her and off to her left threw four kunai. Tenten easily dodged the only one that had a chance at hitting her, and was rewarded with the sound of two of them hitting each of the other ninjas that were moving. One second later, and the attacker was downed as well. 5.

It got silent for a while after that and Tenten was beginning to worry that maybe her count was off. Then she got an idea. Taking out a kunai she let it drop to the ground. The clatter it caused caught the attention of four of the other ninjas, and they immediately jumped towards her general direction. The only one that would have actually caught her was dead before he even hit the ground again. The next two clashed clumsily into each other and were greeted with two senbon needles each. The fourth? He stumbled into Tenten's arm's reach and had just enough time to realize that he was screwed before the dull sound of metal on bone entered his ears. Then he dropped like a rock.

The last ninja left, had been getting more and more nervous as time went on, and then came up with what he thought was a brilliant idea. He began signing, thinking as long as he didn't move and didn't announce his jutsu, he could take her out from where he stood. Yes, he would probably take out the hostage as well, but he didn't care. What he didn't take into account was the fact that his nervousness caused him to overdo things a bit. Like cause his hands to clap together when he was doing his hand signs. As such, his hands would freeze in the middle of the ox sign, and he too would fall to the floor, courtesy of a kunai between the eyes.

After she was sure that was everyone she relaxed and brought Setsuna to her feet. "Naruto, you still there?" From the corner of the room, where the elevator she came in from lay, Naruto's voice came. "Still here Tenten. Phase one complete?"

"Yep. Now on to phase two."

While Tenten was dealing with the ninja's downstairs, Naruto and Lee were dealing with their own problems upstairs. With the inclusion of most of the ninja's from the second basement floor, as well as Naruto's clones, the first basement floor was starting to get a little crowded. However, Lee and Naruto managed to keep the fight on this floor, as planned.

Also as per their plan, they were seriously restriction the amount of jutsu and/or moves that they used. One wrong step and the building could very well collapse. This somewhat evened up the battlefield, but not enough for Naruto and Lee to feel overwhelmed by their opposition.

In fact, Naruto was just getting into his groove when his communicator beeped. "Tenten. How's the extraction going?"

The voice on the other end of the line almost caused him to miss a block from a ninja in front of him. "Nar- cough, cough. Naru….to. Lee…. Plan…. Is scrapped. Two…..must escape….now."

"WHAT? What about Setsuna?"

"Too…..many. Couldn't get….her out. Must get out…..now."

Naruto grit his teeth. He didn't want to leave her behind. But at this point he could only think of one way to get to her through this mass of humanity, and that would probably not be good for the building. "Lee. You get that?"

"Hai. I don't think we can make it down there and back up with both Tenten and the girl. We may have to think of another plan. Retreat for now?"

"I don't like it anymore than you do, but I don't think we have a choice. Head for the stairs." Even as he was talking, Naruto started fighting his way to the stairs closest to him, which just happened to be the boarded off one. Lee, now not hefting his staff, was at the stairs and out of the building in a blink of an eyes, while Naruto, after breaking through the barricade and leave a few clones behind to keep his pursuers busy was right behind them. Both looked back at the building one last time before speeding off into the woods.

The ninja's were about to give chase, having finally made it to the top floor of the building, but were stopped by a commanding voice. "Let them go! I just checked the bottom floor. All of the men we sent are dead, but we still have the girl and one of their teammates is here as well, gravely injured. It seems their little distraction plan failed. Now we have the daimyo's daughter and a Konoha ninja." They all smiled at that. Two bargaining chips meant more ransom money. Content, the ninjas re-entered the building to plan their next ransom letter.

Meanwhile, well out of view of the building Lee and Naruto had finally stopped, and Naruto turned to his left with a smile on his face. "Mission…."

"….complete." Tenten's voice came from behind the tree Naruto had turned to, and Tenten herself, followed by Setsuna, walked into view.

-End-

Assuming you haven't figured it out already, all will be explained in the next chapter. I have it in my head, just need to put in on paper and then type it out.

Sorry if this seems to be a little rushed but I know me. And if I didn't get this out now I never would have. Or at the very least it would have taken me a lot longer.

All I got right now. R&R&have a nice day.


	21. Setsuna

-Chapter 19 Setsuna-

It took Naruto, Lee, and Tenten an extra two days to return to Konoha, due to having to escort the Daimyo's daughter as well. Ninjas didn't need to eat as often or take as many breaks as civilians did, and add on to the fact that this particular civilian had been in the 'hospitality' of a group of missing nins, who by the looks of the girl had only been given enough food and water to ensure her survival, and it would make sense that the group would have to slow their pace while heading home, even while taking turns carrying the girl.

Though, just because her appearance said these things about her, you wouldn't have ever guessed this just by talking to the girl. Throughout their conversations with Setsuna, they had learned that she had always been fascinated by the ninjas of her country, though this was her first time ever meeting one. Granted she wouldn't have preferred these circumstances but everything turned out alright in the end. Even though she had aspirations of becoming a ninja herself when she was younger, she had accepted her role as Fire Country's next leader with a smile.

She had also taken the news of her impending marriage with little to no complaints whatsoever. Then again it wasn't as if she didn't know who it was she was going to be wed to. Kanda, like her, had a certain admiration for the ninjas of his country, especially since Sabaku no Gaara had taken the reigns as Kazekage. He also had the pleasure of actually meeting a couple of the ninjas of his country, namely the Kazekage's siblings. He was initially intimidated by Kankuro, his face paint and bandaged weapons unnerving the young man, though once the blonde haired fan user caught his eye; well let's just say he wished that she wasn't already taken. She had put him down softly thought, which was not what he was expecting given what he had heard about her.

Once she had explained her own situation to her escorts she had asked them questions about themselves. Strangely enough the one she had the least amount of questions for was Naruto. Technically this was Naruto's own fault, seeing as he hadn't really done much to keep himself under the radar. Akatsuki, Orochimaru, Sound Army, and many other achievements that only furthered his acclaim in the eyes of the young woman. Tenten really impressed the young girl, though her admiration of her started when she first laid eyes on the kunoichi. That admiration only grew when she, for lack of a better term, witnessed the woman kill each and every ninja that had come to stop her from saving Setsuna in total darkness.

Lee, on the other hand, was a total enigma to the girl. She was initially wary of the ninja due to his questionable fashion choice, very pronounced eyebrows, and 'unique' haircut. Then she started to really talk to him and was somewhat shocked to find out that he not only was severely handicapped as far as ninjas go, but he somehow managed to progress to the level that rivaled, and in some cases exceeded, ninjas that did have access to their chakra. Lee himself was definitely appreciative of the attention the girl was giving him, if the sudden pep in his step whenever his turn to carry Setsuna came up was any indication, and Tenten noticed this.

"Hey Naruto, you seeing what I'm seeing?" Tenten fell back besides her blonde haired partner, while Lee took point with Setsuna riding piggyback on him.

Naruto had not allowed Lee's reactions to Setsuna's to escape him either. "Mhmm. I'm hoping he doesn't get too attached to her. Last thing we need is for Lee to fall for a woman that is practically already married."

"I know. I think we should wait and see if Lee can figure this one out on his own. Lee's a big boy, even if he doesn't dress like it. He should be able to handle this." Tenten left it at that for now, since the gates for Konoha were finally coming into view.

-Hokage's Office-

Tsunade looked at the three ninjas before her, surrounding a surprisingly well looking Setsuna that was currently seated in a chair in front of her desk. Strangely enough, the ninjas all looked even better than the person they had just saved. Considering the circumstances, she had expecting at least something. Torn clothes, rumpled hair, maybe a cut or a bruise, something. But between the three of them, not a hair was out of place. Once again, knucklehead had done it. Now for the hardest part of any mission that involved him. "I just got a message from the Daimyo, telling me that he had been contacted by the ninjas that kidnapped Setsuna. They said that due to the recently failed attempt at rescuing her, the price for her return has now been doubled, and they are asking for the same amount for the return of the ninja that they had captured as well, describing her as a brown haired ninja with her hair done up in double buns and owning a simply ridiculous amount of storage scrolls. Given that your team has returned with all original members intact, as well as with Setsuna, I have a decent idea as to what you did. Now, how did you do it?"

Tenten stood forward and addressed her leader. "When we arrived at the building, Naruto sent some clones inside the building to scout it out a bit, whilst we slept until midnight. When we woke up Naruto went over what his clones as learned and we formulated a plan, granted it was definitely not the sanest plan I had ever come up with. I split it into 2 phases.

"Phase 1 was Infiltration and distraction. Lee went down one stairwell to the first basement floor where some of the ninjas were, and Naruto went down the other, disguised as a bug so he could get past the wooden boards. I, along with 2 of Naruto's clones, went down the elevator shaft to the bottom floor, where Setsuna was being held. One clone was there to open the elevator for me and then stand by for the next phase, while the second would relay to Naruto that it was time to begin. At a predetermined time we all acted as one. Lee and Naruto started the attack on the ninjas on their floor, while the clone that was still with me opened the door and allowed me to jump into the room and pick off any ninjas in the room. Once I got to Setsuna and freed her, as I had expected, some of the ninjas on the second basement floor came down to make sure that the attack wasn't just a distraction."

At this Tenten tried, and failed, to keep the proud smile from coming on her face. "After ensuring that Setsuna wouldn't be harmed, I took out every light on the floor, casting the room in total darkness, then proceeded to take out each and every ninja that had come down." She couldn't help but giggle as the Hokage's eyebrows shot up as high as she had ever seen them go. "I'll have to show it to you some time later on. Either way once the ninjas were dead, the clone came out to begin phase 2."

-3 Days Ago-

"Yep. Now on to phase 2." At Tenten's confirmation the clone dispersed itself. Two of the clones that were fighting upstairs suddenly broke from their targets and headed down the stairs. Tenten had since activated a simple lighting jutsu to illuminate the room, allowing her and Setsuna to cross the sea of bodies and weapons unharmed. The clones came down and smiled to Tenten and Setsuna, who at this point was staring in awe at the bodies that were lying on the ground around her, none of them moving. Her awed look would only intensify as the first clone transformed into Setsuna, mirroring her current appearance exactly, and seated himself in the chair. The second one tied up 'Setsuna's' arms as they had been and then transformed into Tenten, albeit a much more injured looking one than the original. Once that was done, 'Tenten' laid down on the ground with the rest of the dead ninjas while the real Tenten and Setsuna made their way back up the shaft.

Back on the top floor Naruto was silently counting down the minutes until he would call in to Tenten to see how she was doing. For this to work the way they had planned it, Naruto would have to make sure that at least one or two of his opponents was close enough to hear the conversation. Lee's job was a simple one. Keep the ninjas from overwhelming Naruto in such a confined space, as well a keep the ones that were on this floor from heading back downstairs.

Once Tenten and Setsuna were out, they headed to a predetermined location away from the building, and then simply waited for Naruto's call. _"Tenten. How's the extraction going?"_

Smirking to the girl that was standing next to her she cleared her throat and spoke into her communicator, doing her best impression of herself had she been critically wounded. _"Nar- cough, cough. Naru….to. Lee…. Plan…. Is scrapped. Two…..must escape….now."_

_"WHAT? What about Setsuna?"_

She had to admit, Naruto could actually be quite the actor when he wanted to be. _"Too…..many. Couldn't get….her out. Must get out…..now."_

With that done it was another simple waiting game, this time for Lee and Naruto to escape the base. Once they did and Naruto was sure that they weren't being followed he smiled and turned to where Tenten and Setsuna were standing. "Mission…"

"Complete."

-Present Time-

"After that we began to make our way back to Konoha and the rest is history."

Needless to say, Tsunade was impressed. "Being on Naruto's team has definitely had an interesting effect on your strategizing hasn't it?"

Tenten giggled just a bit, even as Naruto laughed out loud, seeing as he had basically told her the same thing. "What can I say? Conventional rules just get thrown out the window if Naruto is there. That's not to take away from Lee's skills either. Doubt I would have been able to pull it off without the both of them."

Tsunade nodded her head at that, suppressing a slight smile for now. "In any case, congratulations to the three of you. Now go ahead and get some rest. We will begin preparations for returning Setsu-"

"Pardon me, Hokage-sama," Tsunade was more than a little irked to be cut off like that, but was surprised that she had been interrupted by the only non ninja in the room. "But I think I know what you are about to ask, and as much as I am sure my father would love to see me safe and sound, I think it would be more important for me to get to the Wind Country as soon as possible."

At this, Tsunade had to look to Tenten, Lee, and Naruto, and seeing the confused looks on their faces turned back to Setsuna, though if she had looked a little harder she would have noticed that Tenten's face was more thoughtful than confused. "Forgive me, but did you just say you still want to go to Wind Country, even after what just happened?"

"Yes." It wasn't hard to see the determination in her eyes. "Which is why I would like to enlist the services of Konoha to escort me to the Wind Country."

Tsunade observed the young woman carefully, leaning forward and locking eyes with the girl. "Do you really think this is a good idea? I promised your father that I would return you to him, and I don't want to break a promise to my Daimyo, even if it is to continue with the planned transport of you to Wind Country."

"Actually Tsunade-sama, I think this would be the best possible action we could take." Tenten, who had spent some of the conversation that took place between Tsunade and Setsuna lost in thought, spoke up drawing the attention of everyone present. "As of right now, the ninjas that kidnapped her still don't know that we have saved her and replaced her with a clone. Naruto confirmed this since he has not received the memories from those clones yet. I will admit that I had not planned on this little development, but it works in our favor. As long as they believe that they still have her we can get her there unobstructed."

"Well there goes that plan." Naruto spoke up, a grimace on his face that could be seen a mile away. "They just figured out that I left clones for them. Strange though, they only figured it out because of some other ninja that I don't remember seeing there before."

At this Setsuna's face changed to one of recognition. "Did he have really spiky green hair?"

Naruto nodded to the girl, and then frowned a bit. "That the guy that kidnapped you?"

At her nod, Tenten started to rifle through her bingo book, stopping once she found the one she had been looking for. "Is this him?" At the simultaneous nods of both Naruto and Setsuna, Tenten sighed. "Murota Shinn, Mist missing nin. Kiba and I have had a couple of run-ins with him. Never could capture him though. He is a pretty well balanced ninja though he specializes in light throwing weapons, like me, and poisons. I doubt you will be able to find the name of the poison or a cure for it, since he was kind enough to tell us that he mixes his own poisons after poisoning one of our former teammates, basically guaranteeing that there will be no cure for it." The anger in her voice could be felt throughout the room, causing Setsuna to recoil slightly. "I can't say for sure that I know his motivations behind this recent kidnapping, but if he is involved then we may be in a bit of trouble here."

Naruto nodded his head and turned back to Tsunade. "She is right. Right now it is more important that she gets to Wind Country a.s.a.p. They already know that we have her and will more than likely be heading here to try and get her again."

"Just as likely, they will be waiting at the capital for us to bring her back there. Our best bet would be to get her to her original destination immediately." Lee spoke up this time, wanting to put at least some input into this meeting.

Tsunade took in everything that was said, weighing the risks versus the rewards. Finally she spoke. "Very well. Then I will allow this mission to proceed. However, you will not head out for another day to allow Setsuna enough time to rest and recover from her kidnapping. First thing tomorrow morning, you will head out."

All three ninjas nodded their heads and Setsuna rose to her feet, bowing to the blonde Hokage. "Thank you for this, Tsunade-sama." She turned and left the room along with Tenten and Lee. Naruto, however, stayed behind.

"Hey baa-chan, you think we could get Ino and Kiba in on this mission too? I just got a killer idea."

-Outside Hokage Tower-

"If you want you can stay at my place for the night. It's not much but I do have an extra futon." Tenten led her other two companions outside the Hokage tower and automatically, living arrangements for the Daimyo's daughter. Setsuna had immediately opted to living in one of the hotels. Tenten immediately stepped in at that. Although not the worst in the world, Tenten wasn't sure if she would trust some of the hotels here in Konoha, especially if such a high profile person was staying in one of them. Besides, she wouldn't mind a little female company for the night.

"Are you sure? I don't want to feel like I am intruding on your space." It also didn't hurt Tenten's opinion of the girl that she was far too polite for Tenten to believe that she was really the Daimyo's daughter.

"Don't worry about it. My place is your place for the night."

"Then I would be happy to stay with you. But for now, I would love to have a tour of the village. I have never been inside a real ninja village before." Setsuna was now looking around their general area, taking in the sights and sounds of Konohagakure.

"That would be nice. Unfortunately, I will not be joining you. I still have some preparations to make for tomorrow, but Lee will be more than happy to show you around the village, right Lee?" She realized that she was taking a chance of this one, considering what she had seen apparently growing between the two, but she felt that, in spite of all this, Lee would be the bigger person and do the right thing. She just hoped that her trust in her teammate wouldn't be without merit.

"Hai. Setsuna-chan, shall we go?" It already wasn't looking good.

At least Setsuna managed to not look too embarrassed by the honorific change and managed a simple nod towards the oddly dressed ninja. Tenten immediately headed off to do her errands while Lee led her through the village.

The obvious first stop for the couple was the Hokage monument, something that Setsuna had seen on the way in, but now was getting an up close view of the mountain that presented the village with the faces of the last five leaders of the village. She was shocked to learn that Naruto actually had aspirations of having his face put on that very same mountain but was now having second thoughts about that dream. Setsuna then resolved to ensure that if he did decide to become Hokage, he would have her support and that of her father if he was still Daimyo. She probably couldn't hand him the title of course, but she could make sure that he had the backing of some powerful contacts.

Lee then led her up the path behind the mountain and up to the top, giving her a bird's eye view of the village, a sight that absolutely stunned the young woman. Lee explained to her than this made it feel like the Hokages were watching over the village every day, and that this was one of Naruto's favorite hangout spots, second only to the Ichiraku ramen stand. Of course, the mention of a ramen stand caused Setsuna to remember that she had not had a decent meal since the day she left for Wind Country and immediately asked Lee to take her there. Naturally, Lee obliged.

If one that knew Lee were watching him as he walked towards the ramen stand with Setsuna beside him, they would have noticed a dramatic change in the way the man acted around her. He actually managed to keep his voice at a level considered normal by regular people, he didn't break off into any of his tangents, and he didn't even once mention either of the words 'power', or 'youth'. For once, he was actually behaving like a regular ninja. Setsuna, of course, didn't know about Lee's true nature, but at the same time realized that he was definitely not acting in his natural way. Aside from the fact that he somehow managed to look just a bit uncomfortable now that he was alone with her, she didn't think that anyone would willingly step out of their house looking like he did without some serious personality quirks. Her immediate thought was that he was trying to act professional around her because of who she was, something she was used to seeing and, quite honestly, annoyed with. Not that she was blaming Lee for that, it was just that just because she was the Daimyo's daughter didn't mean that she wanted to be treated like royalty each and every minute of the day.

However she wouldn't get the chance to address it just yet. "Lee! It's is good to see you my youthful equal!" She didn't know exactly when the man had decided to appear, or how he had done so as quietly as he did before nearly scaring her out of her borrowed clothes. All she knew was that as soon as her ears stopped ringing she managed to turn her attention to the man, and immediately saw just where Lee got his fashion sense from.

The man that stood before her now looked just like a slightly larger, more eyebrow defined version of her current tour guide. It was strange, really, just how much the two looked alike. It was also very disconcerting to know that Lee had probably taken after this man to an extent that went beyond just appearance.

Lee, strangely, did not even look like he was going to respond to his former sensei in an equally outrageous manner and simply bowed to him. "Gai-sensei, it is good to see you too."

Obviously, this caught the older man's attention. "Lee, I thought I told you not to call me sensei before. We are now youthful equals. Both of us have attained the rank of Jounin, and you have learned everything that I have to teach you. Now it is up to you to blaze your own path towards the springtime of youth!" At the last few words Gai struck an overly exaggerated pose, music playing in the background, the sun setting on the horizon, the whole nine yards.

Setsuna, surprisingly, was attempting to hold back a giggle at the man's antics, but Lee was not joining in. "Hai, Gai sen- Gai-San."

Gai was beginning to get worried about his former pupil until he saw a possible reason for his sudden change in behavior. At this Gai gave a knowing smirk. "Ah, so you intend to spread your youthfulness to your lady friend, right Lee. Well then, I will do my absolute best to ensure that I do not embarrass you in front of her. And if I should then I shall do 500 finger push-ups with each finger while balancing on the Godaime Hokage's monument's nooooooooose!"

Lee blanched slightly, thinking that maybe he should go ahead and tell him which finger to start on, but simply managed to let out a halfhearted "Hai."

After that apparent disaster in the mind of Lee, he showed Setsuna around the rest of the village, eventually ending up at the balcony where his team had their first meeting, and began to talk about his ninja career with her. Setsuna listened intently at how the ninja academy was run, the daily life of a ninja, and even some of the missions that Lee had participated in, both with and without his original team. She was growing a little concerned when, in spite of all of his tales he had managed to avoid any subjects were directly connected to his own personality or that of his sensei. When it became clear that he would not talk about either on his own, she decided to push the issue herself. "So tell me a little about your sensei. I believe you called him Gai?"

It became quite clear that he was wary about talking about his rather eccentric former sensei, and attempted to use a simple general response. "He is a great ninja. He taught me everything that I know now. He took a kid who could not perform any ninjutsu or genjutsu, and turned him into the ninja you see before you now."

"Yes, yes, that is very interesting, but tell me more about him. I mean him as a person. I mean just by looking at him I can tell that he had a very profound influence on you."

Lee shifted a bit, looking away from her. At that moment, Setsuna realized just why he was acting so weird all the sudden. Internally she was laughing out loud. "You know, I found his introduction and antics to be quite entertaining."

Her simple compliment had the desired effect. "Really?" His eyes were now back to her.

"Of course. I especially enjoyed him proclaiming that he would, oh what did he say again? 'Do 500 finger pushups with each finger while balancing on the Godaime Hokage's monument's nose.' Oh wait, I'm sorry. I believe he said 'nooooooooooose!'"

Lee gave a slight chuckle at that. "Yeah, it's something he taught me to help train myself. No matter what I do I always promise to train myself even harder. That way, even if I should fail my task I get stronger because of it."

"Oh? When was the last time you made such a promise?" He was now leaning forward, looking straight at him.

"… I promised my teammate, Tenten, that I would do my best to make her proud of me for this mission to save you. And If I failed I would do 300 laps around Konoha." A moment of silence. "On my hands." One more moment. "….Backwards."

Setsuna wasn't entirely sure whether she should be impressed, intrigued, or afraid for this man's sanity. Just from the small tour she had gotten from him she could tell that Konoha was big, thanks largely in part to the training areas. Just running around the village once would be a trying experience. Adding on another 299 times to that was just crazy. And to do it on your hands while going backwards? It was no wonder she started laughing at him. Once she managed to get control of her lungs again she spoke. "Wow, that has got to be the best thing I have ever heard. Are all ninja's like that?"

It was strange really. Lee had been so afraid that the girl would be either scared off by his personality quirks that the minute she started laughing he had wondered if he had done anything wrong. But once he saw that she was sincerely amused by his antics, he began to loosen up and enjoy himself around her more. "Not exactly, though most of them tend to develop certain quirks about them. Naruto's first sensei, for example, has a serious tardiness problem. He always shows up 2-3 hours late for every appointment he goes to, even if he is the one who sets them."

Setsuna was now openly laughing, barely able to control her own breathing. This fired Lee up even more. "Even better, one of Naruto's former classmates, Nara Shikamaru, is considered a true strategical genius by most everyone in Konoha, and even quite a few out of it, yet he is also the laziest ninja in the village. If given the choice between a million ryo to do a D class mission, and 100 ryo to lay back and watch clouds, I have no doubt in my mind that he would expend all of his youthful energy watching the clouds." He didn't even notice that he was started to let his personality show a little more. He was on a roll, if Setsuna's laughing form was any indication.

"But if you want to see someone who takes their quirk to an extreme, you have to look no further than Naruto himself. Remember how I told you about Ichiraku's ramen stand being one of his favorite places? That is because the man is a ramen addict. I once saw him start a ramen eating contest. One person would sit down and try to out eat him, and if they lost the got up and the next person sat down and tried to do the same. He went through about 15 ninjas before finally having to stop. I don't remember the exact amount of bowls he ate but I can tell you that the price for all that ramen would have been enough to feed a family of four for about 2 months."

At this Setsuna had to hold her hands up in surrender to keep Lee from saying something that would probably cause her to burst an internal organ. Once she calmed down a bit, which took quite a while, she looked back up at her tour guide. "I noticed that most of your stories seem to revolve around Naruto. What is he to you?"

"He is my eternal rival. We compete in just about everything. Sparring, racing, missions, anything and everything. Like me, he was also a dropout for his class, graduating at the bottom of the barrel. And like me, he managed to work his way up and become quite possibly the strongest ninja in the village."

"I see." A sudden yawn overtook her, causing Lee to finally notice that the sun was starting to retreat behind the horizon.

"I think we will have to call it a day here. We have an early day tomorrow, and we will need all the energy we can get."

Setsuna reluctantly nodded her head at this, and followed Lee back down to street level, letting him lead the way towards Tenten's house. Lee immediately tensed up when Setsuna came up beside him, intertwining her right arm with his left.

Lee's arm would not move an inch all the way to Tenten's place, nor would the blush that suddenly overtook his face leave.

Once there, he knocked on his former teammate's door and waited a good 3 seconds before she opened it. "Ah there you are. I assume you had a good time today?"

"Yes I did. Lee-san is an excellent guide. I saw the sights, enjoyed myself, and he even made sure that I was fed properly. I wish you could have joined us Tenten-san."

Tenten smiled and cleared the way. "Well come on in. Give me a moment though; I have something I need to talk to Lee about."

Setsuna nodded and turned back to Lee. "Thank you for showing me around Lee-san. I really appreciate it." She smiled up at him before turning away and walking into Tenten's house.

Lee nodded his head as she turned and then faced his former teammate, recognizing the look on her face. She closed the door, he began speaking. "I know, Tenten-san. I shouldn't get too attached to her. Never mind the fact that she is practically royalty, she is to be married soon, which is supposed to cement an alliance between the Daimyo's of Wind and Fire. I understand that I should not allow myself to grow feelings for someone that, ultimately, I cannot have." He spoke almost as if he was reciting something he had written down beforehand.

Tenten's face softened up just a bit at his speech. "And yet, you already have."

Lee looked down, his posture suddenly relaxed. "I can't help it. I mean, it's not that I am desperate for attention or love. It just kinda happened. I tried, I really tried to not fall for her, but I failed." Sighing, he then stood straight, locking eyes with her. "As punishment for my failure I will run to the top of the tallest tree in Konoha 500 times on my hands!"

Tenten sighed. Just like him. "I don't want you to punish yourself. For one we have a very important mission tomorrow. The last thing I need is for you to exhaust yourself. But you need to make sure you understand where the line is being drawn. I'm not saying that you suddenly up and leave her, but make sure that you understand that it is just not going to happen. Yes you can be friends and yes you two can still chat, but understand that we cannot mess this up." She sighed, wishing that she could compound this next statement with a little bit of personal experience, help her to drive this point home. "Sometimes, we have to sacrifice our own happiness in order for the greater good to be achieved."

To say that Lee was just a bit dejected at this would be an understatement. However he did manage to nod to her before stating, "I understand. Thank you, Tenten-san. I will see you tomorrow morning at the front gate." With that Lee turned and walked off.

Tenten pondered his answer for a moment, hoping that this would not affect his performance tomorrow, or his opinion of her after this mission was over. In spite of everything Lee was still one of her closest friends, and she didn't want to lose that. Sighing, she turned and opened her front door heading back into the house, though she would be surprised to find Setsuna waiting for her at her door. "Setsuna-san?"

"I heard everything." She sighed and turned to head for Tenten's living room. "I didn't mean to cause any of this."

"You didn't." Tenten attempted to reassure the young woman that it wasn't her fault. "I mean, I can kind of understand where he is coming from, but I just needed him to understand that while he may have feelings for you, he cannot act on those feelings. It's cruel, I know, but that is our way of life."

"I understand that." She sat down and faced the window, watching as the last of the sun's rays disappeared from the sky. "Like I said before, I had to give up on my aspirations of possibly becoming a ninja myself. I am my father's only living relative, the only one that can take up the mantle of Daimyo when his time is over. I may or may not like that fact, but no matter what I think of the situation, the fact remains that there is nothing I can do but accept it. The same with this marriage. While it is fortunate that I really do like Kanda-kun, I realize that even had I not, it wouldn't matter. If the country as a whole would benefit from it then I would gladly sacrifice my own happiness for their sake. And yet…"

"And yet?" Tenten tensed a bit at the girl's words, unsure of whether or not she would like what would come out of her mouth next.

Setsuna sighed and turned towards Tenten, who was more than a little shocked to see a few tears stream down her face. "And yet, I cannot deny that if I had the choice, I would choose Lee-san over Kanda-kun in an instant."

Tenten froze at those words. This was not good.

-End Chapter 18-

Damn. Has it really been that long since I have done anything on this site? I'm slacking, I know, but you would be too if you were in my situation. I won't get into my situation because, well, let's just say that the people in charge do not appreciate certain information being distributed to people who don't need to know.

On an interesting note, I was checking through my email a few weeks back and I just happen to notice a Favorite Story alert in my inbox. Not so interesting considering that I usually get about 5-6 of them a week, and definitely not as interesting as reviews, but the pen name caught my attention. One EroSlackerMicha. An author whose stories I have actually read. And enjoyed. It caught my attention so much that I actually started to seriously think about this next chapter. Not to say that I wasn't before. I just could find pull anything out of my head and put it on screen.

I have a couple of ideas for where I want this to go next. For now though I will wait until I get some feedback for this chapter. After all, the reader is who I need to entertain, not myself.

Also, I for some reason am only just not noticing that my chapter count is fucked up. Apparentely somewhere along the line I managed to end up with 2 Chapter 15s. I will attempt to have this fixed asap.

Until then, R&R&have a nice day.


	22. Divide and Conquer

-Chapter 19 Divide and Conquer-

In essence, it was probably a good thing that she decided to wait until Setsuna came back to go out for something to eat for herself and Setsuna. It gave her the perfect excuse to go out and find Naruto.

What she had just learned from her houseguest for the night was not what she needed to hear, especially when she had just tried to discourage Lee from pursuing his feelings for the girl. Feelings that the girl had now admitted to reciprocating. She needed to talk this over with someone, and since Naruto was on the mission with her, the choice was obvious.

Disregarding her own turmoil filled mind for the moment, she could not understand just why Naruto was still living in his old apartment. Considering that he and Ino hand been together for about 2 months now, it would have made sense that at least one of them would want to get him out of the rundown old apartment building that he had basically lived his entire life. However, she put it out of her mind for now and knocked on his door. After about a full minute Naruto opened up the door, dressed in a t-shirt and shorts. "Huh, Tenten? Why are you still out? You know that we have to be up early tomorrow."

"Sorry Naruto, but this couldn't wait. It's about Lee and Setsuna." Naruto's eyes opened all the way at this and he regarded the woman in front of him for a moment before stepping out of the doorway.

"Come in, I don't think we should be talking about this out here." Once she was inside he closed and locked the door then headed to his small couch where she had sat down. "Let me guess; leaving Lee to try and restrain himself with her didn't work out?"

Tenten sat down on the couch next to him, her words exiting her mouth even before she was fully seated. "Even worse. Not only does he have feelings for her, but she knows it. Lee took Setsuna on a tour of the village and when they got back I had a talk with him about it outside my place. Lee seemed to accept it, but I am unsure of that right now. Anyway, when I went back in I found Setsuna at my door. She had been eavesdropping on our conversation, and heard us when we addressed Lee's feelings for her. And that's not even the worst of it."

"Huh? How could it possibly ge-" At that Naruto froze, and Tenten didn't need to be a Yamanaka to know what Naruto had just pieced together. "You don't mean?"

She nodded her head gravely, barely able to believe it herself. "Setsuna has feelings for Lee as well. She even admitted to me that if she could she would choose to be with Lee rather than her current fiancé. And I really don't know what to do about it. I mean I really do want Lee to be happy, but how can we possibly move forward without someone ending up depressed?"

Naruto looked down, his chin in his right hand, his left arm resting on his left knee. "….. I don't think we can." He finally spoke, his eyes still focused on the floor. "I do know that no matter what, Lee can't be made aware of the fact that Setsuna has feelings for him. That will only make things worse for everybody. Somehow, Lee is just going to have to live with the fact that she is just too far out of his reach."

"But what about Setsuna? I mean, she likes him and she knows that he likes her. Even if there is no way to avoid it, how can this marriage possibly end well if she is constantly thinking about Lee, especially since she admitted that she would rather be with him than Kanda?" Tenten shifted herself so she was facing Naruto.

"Something else we really can't do much about." Now Naruto's head was turned slightly to look at his teammate. "We really can't control her actions, outside of suggesting to her that this just can't happen. Besides, she has already accepted that what she wants to do and what she has to do are two different things right? I don't think we have too much to worry about on her end."

"But…" Tenten attempted to speak a couple of times, clearly attempting to puzzle out her words, but couldn't come up with anything.

Naruto noticed this with a slightly raised eyebrow. "What about this is beating you up so much? We both agree that they can't be together right? Maybe under different circumstances things would be alright, but that isn't the case here."

"I know. I know this can't happen. It's just that….. a part of me wants this to happen." Tenten's admission caused Naruto's eyes to widen, prompting her to continue with her explanation. "As good a ninja as he is we both know how….. socially challenged he is when it comes to people that aren't used to his behavior. I will admit that even though I know that he just can't be with her, a part of me was happy to see someone accept him so willingly. Outside of fighting have you ever seen him so happy before? I really don't want to take that away from him, but what else can we do?"

"…It might not happen often, but not every mission I take ends with a happy ending. Face it. Nothing we can do will help this situation any." Naruto now faced her fully, hoping to help her understand that they had reached a road block that nothing, not even his own view on things, could go around, over, or through.

This only caused her to sigh and stand. "I guess we'll just have to hope for the best tomorrow huh? Thank you for talking to me, and sorry for waking you up." She headed for the door, Naruto close behind.

"Yeah, anytime. That's what I'm here for. Oh, I talked to Baa-chan when you guys left. We will be meeting at the Front gate at about 6:30. Glad you stopped by or else I wouldn't have remembered. I'll send out a clone to tell Lee."

"Ok, well you go ahead and get some sleep. See ya tomorrow." With that she bounded off towards the closest open store she could find.

Naruto watched her leave for a moment. Even though he had convinced her that there was nothing they could do, part of him was on par with her own way of thinking. And knowing him the way he did, he knew this would bug him until he at least tried to do something about this. "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu." Instantly, two clones appeared next to him and without even a moment's hesitation, one headed in the direction of Lee's house while the other bounded off towards the main gate. Just because he couldn't do much, didn't mean there weren't other who's hands were similarly tied.

-5:30am Next Day-

The light from the slowly rising sun had not even reached Konoha by the time Ino and Kiba appeared at the front gate to the village. Ino, however, looked like she was not at all affected by the early start to her day. The same could not be said for her teammate for this mission. Being told that he and Ino had been given a high profile escort mission that would require them to be at the main gate at 5:30 in the morning, regardless of whether or not it was at the personal request of the Hokage, had left Kiba in a sour mood when he went to bed that night. That mood had lightened slightly by the time the morning hit.

Then it completely vanished when the Hokage walked up with the person he assumed they would be escorting. A person he remembered seeing before.

"Inuzuka Kiba, Yamanaka Ino. This is Setsuna, the Daimyo's daughter. I am sure that Naruto has already informed you about the rescue mission he, Tenten, and Lee went on a few days ago, and as you can see, it was successful. While I won't go into details, I can tell you that the kidnappers weren't made aware of this until yesterday, and it is likely that they will attempt to kidnap her once again. Therefore, your task is to take her back to the capital as soon as possible. It is possible that they will be anticipating this move and will either be on their way to the capital, or will be waiting there for you. I would hope that you will get there without the need for hostilities due to your escort, but should it come to that remember; her safety is your primary priority. No matter what, she _has_ to make it back to the capital. Is that understood?" Needless to say, the Hokage was all business today.

"Yes Hokage-sama. We will not fail this mission. Right Kiba?" She had already noticed that Kiba's eyes had, so far, not left the girl at the Hokage's side, and decided to see how he would react to a sudden shift in attention to him.

She wasn't disappointed. "Huh? Oh, yes of course. Not gonna fail this one. I will personally ensure that she gets home."

A raised eyebrow was the only reaction that the Hokage would offer. "Very well then. Setsuna, it was a pleasure to meet you. Don't worry, if anything these two will make sure you get home safely."

Setsuna nodded her head at the older woman. "Thank you Hokage-sama. I will talk to you again soon." As Tsunade walked off she turned to her escorts. "Well then, shall we go?"

Naturally, Kiba immediately volunteered his back for her to ride on. Ino was not having any of that. "Setsuna-san, please get on top of Akamaru. Don't worry, he doesn't bite and doesn't have fleas. Kiba on the other hand…." She let the rest of the statement hang in the air.

The girl would surprise Ino though by giving a light giggle at the statement and then climbing on to the oversized dog. Once they were sure everyone was ready they took off with Kiba getting in two last words before their departure. "You suck."

-1 Day Later-

The trip to the capital was a somewhat uneventful one, unless you count Kiba's attempts at trying to strike up a conversation with Setsuna. For her part, she had answered his questions with the same amount of enthusiasm as she had when she was traveling with Naruto, Tenten, and Lee.

Eventually, the subject of her capture had been indirectly brought up, though it surprised both ninjas that it was brought up by Setsuna. She had been telling them about her rescue by the other three ninjas, as well as her trip to Konoha with said ninjas. "They treated me very well, too. I even got a tour of the village."

"Pardon me for asking Setsuna-san, but would you be willing to tell us exactly what happened? We weren't made aware of the details of your situation." Ino hoped that she wouldn't take offense to her asking about this, but she didn't like taking on a job without knowing as many facts as she could. This one was an exception, for obvious reasons.

"Of course, Ino-san. Everything happened the day I left the capital. A little after midday, I suddenly heard a commotion outside of my carriage. One of the guards told me to stay in the carriage, but that was all he told me. Then the door opened and some kind of smoke entered. I tried to hold my breath and run but there was a man standing at the door. I managed to see that he had really spiky green hair before I passed out. When I gave this description to Tenten-san, she immediately identified him as-"

"Murota Shinn." Kiba interjected himself into the conversation at this, his tone dark. There weren't too many ninjas that fit the limited description that Setsuna gave them, and only one that Tenten would be able to recognize immediately given that description. "This might be a bit more difficult than I was expecting it to be."

Ino, who had not been privy to this particular enemy of her friend, gave him a puzzled look. "He can't be all that bad, can he? I mean, he is only one ninja."

"He may be only one ninja, but he is still a really good one. He specializes in long range weapons and poisons, not a very good combination for either of us. Add to that the fact that we are currently protecting a high profile person, and we may have a hard time trying to get her home."

"I take it you have met him before?" It didn't take much for Ino to figure out that their current break would have to be cut short. She had already stood up and was preparing to start moving again.

"A few times. His poisons are so potent that I can't even use my advanced sense of smell against him. Remember my fight with Naruto during our first Chuunin exams? Well imagine that only 10 times more deadly."

Ino nodded her head, and managed to hold her amusement at Kiba's reference to her boyfriend's….. unorthodox victory methods to a small grin. "Then we had better start moving. The sooner we get her back, the better. Setsuna-san, hop onto Akamaru. We're leaving now."

Setsuna was already clambering onto the dog and nodded to show she was ready. Seconds later they were off, moving a little faster than they had been previously traveling. Though even with this increase in pace, Ino's still had the focus to notice something that seemed…. off to her. _'From was Setsuna said, they figured out that it was Shinn that had kidnapped her when they did the mission debriefing yesterday. Hokage-sama would have known to at least let us know who was tailing us. It would have been nice to know beforehand that Kiba's nose was gonna be compromised thanks to this guy's poisons. So why didn't she say anything? For that matter, why didn't Naruto?' _Something wasn't adding up in the mind of Ino, but she just couldn't place just what it was. She shook her head a bit and refocused on the path ahead of her. _'Maybe I'm thinking too much into this. There will be time to question the Hokage's logic later right now we-'. _Her thought would go unfinished as Kiba would suddenly tackle her to the ground with Akamaru quickly dropping with them, bringing Setsuna down as well. Just in time to miss the three kunai that, had they not moved, would have found new homes inside their heads.

Ino, just now returning to her feet, stood and got between her attackers and Setsuna, a kunai in each hand. She would have to move quickly though as the four ninjas that had appeared would waste no time in going on the attack. Two of the ninjas immediately went for her one slightly behind the other, while the other two were stopped by Kiba en route to Setsuna.

It quickly became apparent that their strategy was to try and move the Konoha nins away from Setsuna. The pair attacking Kiba attempted to do this by simply aggressively attacking him, hoping to make him shift his focus on Setsuna and more on the fight with them. Ino's opponents went for blitz tactics, with one attacking for a few moments before suddenly falling back, letting his partner move in for a few attacks before switching off again. _'They've done their homework. I don't have time to activate my mind jutsu, and I can't focus on a single opponent long enough to incapacitate him. They already know that if they let me take them on one at a time they don't stand a chance. Looks like our poison master has been scouting us.'_ She briefly contemplated switching off opponents, but dismissed that idea in an instant. If Shinn was as good as Kiba seemed to think he was, then he would have accounted for that as well. _'The worst part about it is they know we are not fighting full strength because of Setsuna. Can't send Akamaru off with her either. If they have more with them then I don't think Akamaru will be able to hold them off.' _

A quick kick to her shin followed up by a knee aimed at her face, the latter of which she blocked, brought her out of her internal debate. Anyway she looked at it, they would have to deal with them first before they could think about moving on. Any plan she could come up with would require her to speak to Kiba. And never mind the fact that he was still busy with his own opponents, she would have to mind tag him so that their enemies did not catch on to their plans, and her own enemies weren't giving her the time of day to even do that.

And then it happened. After dodging a doton jutsu Kiba was caught with a shuriken to the shoulder, which unfortunately broke the last of the focus he had on protecting Setsuna. He lunged at the one that threw the shuriken and started swiping at him, his claws enlarged and aimed at his face. Unfortunately, this lapse in concentration freed up the other ninja, who immediately ran for Setsuna. Akamaru had already let Setsuna off of him and took up a defensive stance between him and the opposing ninja. The ninja threw a brace of shuriken at the dog, who responded with a chakra infused bark, throwing them off course. Akamaru never saw the small orb that the ninja threw at him until it started to spew smoke around him. Any hopes of using his chakra bark to blow away the smoke was diffused when he tried to breathe in, and immediately started choking on the smoke which had concealed him from view.

By the time he had thought to turn and move himself and Setsuna from the smoke, it was over.

"Nobody move or the girl dies!"

All movement immediately ceased. The smoke was finally clearing up, allowing everyone to see that the ninja was now right behind Setsuna, one arm pinning hers behind her back, the other holding a kunai at her neck. The ninjas fighting Ino and Kiba used this moment to immediately pin their opponents down, and while Akamaru did not move, he did not give the ninja a reason to think that he would attack.

"Good. Now then, we will be taking the girl back with us to the boss. I'm sure he will be pleased to see that we managed to get the Daimyo's daughter back from half of the Konoha quartet." _'Great. The missing nins are already giving us stupid nicknames.'_ Clearly, Ino was not amused by this distinction. "Maybe he will be even more satisfied if I bring him back your heads."

Clearly Setsuna was not pleased with that image. "Wait. Please don't harm them. I will go with you peacefully and they will do nothing to pursue you. Just let them live."

The ninja was amused by this. "Do you really think you are in any position to make some sort of bargain with me? I have all three of you at my mercy. What is to stop me and my partners here from just taking all of their heads right now?"

"Clearly you have heard of this team. If you were to kill them, then the other half of their team will not stop until they hunt each and every one of you down."

The ninja holding her looked at her weirdly.

The ninjas holding Ino and Kiba started to look just a bit nervous.

Kiba looked at the girl with something akin to admiration. It wasn't everyday that you saw a hostage talk down upon their kidnappers like she just did.

Ino, however, looked at the girl with a curious expression on her face. The feeling she had gotten right before the attack had just resurfaced again, only this time it came with warning bells. Something was definitely off about this whole situation.

"For a princess, you are pretty cunning. Ok, fine. You come with us, and guarantee that they won't follow, and then we let them go."

Setsuna nodded her head and looked at her former escorts. "Please. I just don't want to see you hurt."

Ino was in the midst of announcing her protest, but even the thought of protesting died in her mouth when Setsuna gave her a very subtle, but still uncharacteristic wink. The bells were ringing even louder now. However she still nodded her head at the girl. She could hear Kiba seething a few yards away from her but a quick glance in his direction subdued him.

The ninjas that held them captive immediately released them, jumping to join their defacto leader for this mission. "Well then little girl, are you ready to go?"

Setsuna nodded her head, but suddenly started, as if she had remembered something. "Oh, silly me. I forgot to say one more thing."

The ninjas were clearly not amused by this lapse in memory. "Damnit girl, we don't have time for this! Say what you need to say and let's go!"

"Very well." She looked back up at her captor with a smile. One that Ino immediately recognized. "Uzumaki Naruto sends his regards." And with that, Setsuna poofed out of existence.

"…" For the longest time, silence reigned over the immediate area, only to be broken by a very low, very angry male voice. "I'm kicking his ass the moment we get back!"

The kidnappers, obviously angry with this sudden turn of events, immediately turned to the Konoha nins. "Explain yourselves! Where is the girl?"

"The hell if we know. We thought that was her too." Kiba was now back on his feet, looking extremely pissed. "Obviously, someone on our team decided to have an idea and not tell any of us about it. Probably why we haven't seen either of them since the day they left to save her."

"Kiba, stop explaining." Ino was also on her feet, and judging by the cracking of her knuckles, it was clear that she was not in a good mood. "We'll make sure we get him back for this later. Right now I need to vent, and I see four perfect targets right here."

Now the ninjas were starting to look worried. Their plan had been based on the fact that they could keep the Konoha nins at bay using Setsuna as an insurance policy. And now that policy had just vanished. Now, instead of two ninjas and 1 dog protecting a non fighter, it was the three of them trying to kill the four of them.

Their situation could be best summed up in three words. They. Were. Dead.

-Near the Wind Country Border-

"I don't care how crazy, insane, and surprisingly logical this plan of yours may sound. I still think that Ino and Kiba are going to put you in the hospital once we get back."

"I'll just say it was your idea, and use the plan you came up with when we were saving Setsuna as a reference. Not like they will put you in the hospital."

"True. But you are forgetting one very important detail. The fact that they weren't informed of this little plan of yours beforehand, which is something that they already know only one of us would even think of doing. Face it; this plan has your name, signature, and stamp all over it."

"…. Damnit!"

This is about how the trip from the gates of Konoha to their current position, about a half an hour's worth of travel from the Wind Country border where Setsuna's Suna escort was supposed to be meeting her. Naruto had informed both Lee and Tenten of the little conversation he had with the Hokage after they had left. This had caused Setsuna to giggle while commenting that "Even for a ninja, you really do like to throw curveballs, don't you?", Lee to cringe at the thought of his friend once again ending up in the hospital at the hands of his teammates, and Tenten to lightly berate him for placing a very well hidden prank right in the middle of a mission. Yes it wouldn't really affect the way the mission was handled but still…..

"Oh, well looks like it paid off. The clone I left with Ino and Kiba just dispersed. Wow, they were good, I'll give 'em that."

"What happened, Naruto-Kun?" Lee sped up to talk with Naruto. It should be noted that so far, Setsuna had yet to be carried by Lee, a point that Tenten made to Lee before they left, even if her own mind was basically screaming things like "Hypocrite!" at her.

"Well they weren't all that far from the capital when they attacked. There were four of them and they managed to keep up with Kiba and Ino really well. I don't know who this guy is but he clearly has been scouting us, 'cause they knew exactly how to tie the two of them up. One of them managed to break free and got to my clone, obviously thinking it was Setsuna, and tried to use it to stop Kiba and Ino from attacking. You can imagine the surprise on their faces when they my clone all of the sudden disappeared." He paused for a moment to consider his own words. "Actually, you are gonna have to since I didn't even see their faces."

And once again, Naruto had managed to take a serious situation, make a simple joke about it, and cause his other three traveling companions to laugh. Par for the course as far as he went.

Of course, such a happy mood was not meant to last long.

"Everybody down!" Tenten dropped even as she was yelling the words herself, and everyone complied, with Naruto covering Setsuna.

The order couldn't have been any better timed, as each ninja barely dodged a senbon needle that was aimed at their backs. Tenten noticed that the needle were causing the grass that they landed in to smoke, and it didn't take a lot of imagination to figure out just who had caught up with them. "Well, if it isn't my favorite dance partner."

Tenten rose to her feet and turned to meet the eyes of the one ninja that had managed to evade her over and over again. "Nice to see you again, too. Quite the welcome, by the way. Don't worry, I'll return the sentiment soon enough."

Now that Naruto was looking at the guy in person, it wasn't all that difficult to see how Tenten was so quick to identify him as Setsuna's kidnapper. His hair was a dark green color that looked spiky enough to impale someone on. His arms were bare, save for a pair of fingerless gloves that seemed similar to the ones worn by Kakashi, only without the metal backings. His top was adorned with a mesh shirt underneath a black vest with purple trim, much lighter than those worn by Konoha's Jonin and without any of the pockets. His pants were black and purple in a camouflage design, and he wore the traditional footwear of a ninja. Topping all this off was a hiate-ite with a line crossing through the Hidden Mist symbol.

"I would hope so. And I see you brought a new set of guests this time." His smile, which had been on his face since Tenten had laid eyes upon him, faded when he saw her companions. Particularly, when he caught sight of Lee. "What, pray tell, is that monstrosity of a suit you are wearing?"

Lee, obviously taking offense to this, stepped forward and set a glare upon him. "This suit was given to me by my sensei, a great ninja. I wear this to honor him for making me the ninja I am today. I will not allow you to-" He was immediately cut off my Tenten placing a hand on his shoulder.

"Lee, calm down. This is how he operates. Don't let him get under your skin."

"Hmm, I see. I am surprised to see you without that flea ridden beast, or his pet." A moment of silence, which included Shinn sending Tenten another smile due to the glare that she sent him for his little nickname for Kiba, and then he spoke again. "I see now. You know, had I been any other ninja I probably would have been fooled. Well, I suppose it would be more precise to say had _you_ been any other ninja." His comment, as well as his face, had been directed at Naruto.

"Eh? What are you talking about now?" Now it was Naruto's turn to glare.

"You have made quite the name for yourself, Uzumaki. I figured that there was a chance we would meet so I did my research. And aside from being far too resilient for any ninja to handle, you are terribly unpredictable. I would have thought that you would have pushed to have her moved back to the capital to her father, but I know of your chronic stubbornness as well. You will see a mission through no matter what. Granted I was not expecting you to be the one that was escorting her to Wind Country, but it does give me a golden opportunity."

"Oh, and what kind of opportunity would that be? There have been far too many ninja's before you that tried and all of them failed. What makes you any different?"

Shinn couldn't help but laugh. "Because, of everyone you have fought in the past, I doubt you have fought anyone that uses poison like I do. Plus, I do not get frustrated as easily as they do. Just ask your partner there." He then dropped his folded arms to his sides. "But enough talk. I do not believe we are all gathered here just to listen to each other talk about why I am going to kill you and take back the princess, yes?"

"Just one more question before I return your head to my Hokage." Tenten spoke up next, and neither Naruto nor Lee could remember a time when her voice had such a dark edge to it. "Why are you doing all of this? You don't seem like the kind of guy who would do this just for the money, which also rules out the idea that you were hired to do this. So what is your goal here?"

Shinn sighed and turned his head to look at the girl, who Naruto had put down in preparation for this fight. "Fine, one more explanation before we start. Simply put, I want chaos. There is no special reason behind it, no real motivation for it. I just want to see this country tear itself apart. So I asked myself, what would be the best way to do so? Well, the Daimyo only has one kid, and his wife died due to an illness. Meaning that if the two of them were to die, then the country would be leaderless. It would just be a matter of spreading the word to the rest of the missing nins that the country was now our new playground. Could you imagine it?" He held up a hand to stop the protest rising up from Tenten. "I have planned on your Hokage as well. Your leader may be strong, but she is also a little seasoned is she not? Plus, I believe I would be correct in saying that in terms of combat ability, the strongest of your ninjas would be him." Once more, his attention was towards Naruto. "I do not know why you are not leader of your village, but I can say without a shred of doubt that if I were to defeat you, then I would be able to defeat your Hokage. And if I can beat your Hokage then there would be no one left in your village that could beat me. And then, with no one left to keep us in line, we would be allowed to do as we please."

"A lofty goal. A flawed one at that." Tenten fished out the first of her many scrolls, keeping her eyes on her opponent. "Because your goal has a single point of failure. All we have to do is kill you."

Naruto used this time to edge over towards Lee. "Lee, I want you to take Setsuna and run as fast as you can to Wind Country. Do not stop, do not slow down. Just run."

"No. I should stay and fight with Tenten. You would have a better chance of keeping her safe wouldn't you?"

"Maybe, but I don't think it would be much better of a chance than you would. Besides, against a guy who is apparently as proficient with poisons as this guy is, I doubt you would want to get in close with him, which is what 95% of your offense counts on. Tenten has her weapons and I can use shadow clones. Now go."

Lee tried to protest, found that he couldn't, and then nodded his head, picked up Setsuna piggyback, and rushed off.

"Are you sure about this? I mean after what we talked about a couple of nights ago?" Tenten spoke softly while keeping focused on Shinn.

"Trust me. Everything will be alright. Let's focus on how we show disembowel this guy for now."

"Are you finished whispering yet? Because I am getting bored." He reached into his weapons pouch and pulled out three kunai and a small purple ball.

"Good, I was too. Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" 10 more Naruto's appeared and all rushed Shinn.

"Ninpo; Poison Shield Jutsu." He dropped the ball he was holding and made one hand sign. As soon as the ball hit the ground it exploded in to a cloud of purple mist, which immediately formed a sphere around him. The first clone to reach him barreled through the shield but as soon as his face hit the mist, he poofed out of existence. 2 of the remaining clones tried as well one trying from a different angle, and one attempting to hold his breath. Both met similar fates to the first one.

"That's not gonna work Naruto. Even if you hold your breath the mist will still enter your body through your nose and pores. And as you have noticed, it is very fast acting." Tenten then jumped into action, unfurling the first of her scrolls and, adding a little chakra to it, summoned a chain and sickle.

"How well can he move with the shield in place?" Naruto pulled out some kunai, while his clones fell back.

"Quite well. There are only two ways we have a shot at hitting him. One, we try to bombard him with weapons. The shield is just a mist, so any solid object will get through it easily. Given how large the shield it there is no way we will be able to get in close enough to land a hit on him, which restricts us to jutsu and weapons."

"But he is as proficient with them as you are so that's out of the question for now. And number two?"

"Simple, we make him move enough so that his shield starts trailing behind him, just like when Lee fought the Kazekage back then."

"Right. We make his shield trail behind him, and then we move in for the kill."

Tenten nodded at his understanding and then started to swing the chain above her head. "I'll move him, you wait for an opening." Without even waiting for his confirmation, she rushed forward, and once she was close enough swung the sickle around his left side.

Shinn started to jump backwards, his shield still surrounding him. Tenten however did not let up with her swings, continuing to follow him while ensuring she didn't get too close to him in case he suddenly decided to change direction. The tip of the sickle was cutting into the shield now, and he was starting to speed up his evasions as her swings became more and more accurate.

Seeing a possible chance at catching him off guard, she swung the sickle sideways, and then as soon as his feet were of the ground, brought the other end of the chain around.

Unfortunately, he was expecting this move and had a kunai ready. He threw it and the end of the chain, the tip going in the hole of one of the links and into the ground. Tenten immediately abandoned the weapon, knowing that the time it would take to pull her weapon out of the ground would be more than enough time for Shinn to close the distance on her. She retreated back and planned her next move.

"Oh, come on now. Surely you can do better than this. After all, I doubt you want to keep your green clad friend alone with the princess too long."

"What are you talking about?" Tenten next brought out a short bow with arrows.

The smile that appeared on his face couldn't have been more disgusting in her mind. "You didn't really think I came here by myself did you?"

Immediately understanding the implications of his statement, her eyes widened slightly, but before she could even think of commanding Naruto to track down Lee….."Taju Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" Immediately 100 Naruto's appeared and all ran off in the direction of the Wind Country border.

The only thought that ran through the mind of Tenten was one she never would have thought would exist. _'Lee, if you really do love this girl then you had better not screw this up.'_

-With Lee and Setsuna-

The 30 minutes that it would have taken for them to head for Wind Country was rapidly decreasing at the speed that Lee was moving. Setsuna was holding on for her life, though if what she overheard a couple nights ago was true, then she had nothing to worry about. If anything, she was probably in the safest place she could be right now.

After Tenten had left her to go get something to eat, she sat there staring out of the window thinking about her situation. She had accepted her engagement to the Wind Daimyo's son out of necessity. Their parents were looking for a symbol for their alliance and this was the way they had chosen. As she had told Tenten's group, it wasn't a totally one sided deal, since she had written to Kanda a few times and figured that everything would be alright.

When she had been abducted, her primary concern was not for her own life, but for the state of the alliance between the 2 Countries. Even worse was the fact that her father had already told her that he would not marry another woman after her mother died, which at this point meant that should anything happen to him, she was the only one that could take over the mantle, a point that was made painfully obvious to her by that green haired ninja. The ransom that was then put on her only solidified the fact that she was basically just the bait for her father. She knew that she was going to be beating herself up about not realizing their true goals sooner.

However, unlike most people she handled her captivity in a most unusual manner for the daughter of a Daimyo. She yelled, screamed, and lashed out as many insults as she knew, which were not only surprisingly numerous but very colorful for someone of her upbringing, at the ninjas. Yes it didn't really do much to faze them, but it made her feel good.

That good feeling only increased when Tenten came jumping through the elevator, killing every ninja in the room before she could even register that Tenten had even entered the room. She had turned to the ninja that lay dead next to her and gave him the least nasty insult she could give. After all, it wouldn't do to seem too impolite in front of her would be rescuer.

Within less than an hour of meeting ninjas for the first time she quickly came to a realization. Everything she had been told about ninjas was not only true, but it was a gross understatement. Between watching Tenten kill every ninja inside the room they were in while in total darkness, to watching two copies of Naruto transform into herself and Tenten, to hanging onto Tenten while she walked up the wall of the elevator, she now had a newfound respect and adoration for the people called ninjas.

When she first met Lee she wasn't entirely sure what to think of the man. Yes his clothing and hair cut were 'questionable', but she had also picked up an apparently commonly used phrase amongst ninjas. "Underneath the underneath." So in that spirit she attempted to learn more about him, and found that she was indeed growing attached to him. She remembered wondering to herself how many women would have found such a caring man inside of Lee had they just given him the chance.

In the back of her mind, she knew that she shouldn't be doing this. She was next in line to take over as Daimyo of Fire Country, and she was supposed to be getting married soon. Yet one could not control the workings of the heart, and right now her heart was pulling her in the direction of the ninjas whose back she was currently riding.

This realization wasn't made any easier by her eavesdropping on Tenten and Lee outside of Tenten's apartment. Now, not only did she grow feeling for the boy, but apparently he had done the same for her. And it didn't take a genius to figure out that it wasn't because of her status. Lee was a simple man, with simple goals. Becoming as strong as he can be, and protect those he cared for. He liked here for her, she could see that. And to be honest, she didn't even mind any of his personality quirks. In fact, she had spent a good amount of effort to get him to bring them to the surface.

Maybe at a different time and place, things would have been so much easier to deal with.

"Lee-san?" So wrapped up in her thoughts, she hadn't even noticed they had stopped until she finally registered that there was no wind rushing past her face. Seeing Lee's head looking straight ahead she followed his gaze, and understood why they stopped.

The border to Wind Country was just a few hundred yards away, but impeding their path was a very large number of ninjas.

In the back of her mind, she should have guessed Shinn would have planned for this. However, retrospective thinking wouldn't do them any good right now. "Setsuna-san, do you trust me?"

She hesitated to answer the question for two reasons. One was simply because it had caught her by surprise, considering how silent Lee had been for the trip. Two, however, was because she couldn't tell if there was some sort of secret meaning behind it. She spent a few seconds contemplating it before she squeezed his shoulder lightly. "Yes Lee-san, I trust you."

Nodding his head he put her down on her feet. "Then do not move from this spot unless I tell you to." He then took a few steps in front of her and got into his Taijutsu stance. "IF YOU WANT HER THEN YOU WILL HAVE TO GO THROUGH THE GREEN BEAST OF KONOHA, ROCK LEE!"

Setsuna had to admit, she was touched by determination. The ninjas blocking their path, well let's just say that they weren't as impressed. They rushed forward towards the two, but Lee did not move from his spot. As soon as they were close enough, however, Lee struck. The first one was sent flying by a roundhouse kick to the face. And that was about all Setsuna would be able to see, as Lee suddenly disappeared into a blur of motion around her. She remained rooted in place, not moving even an inch to any side.

Lee, for the most part, was getting in quite the exercise today. Do to the number of ninjas that were currently attacking, he was not focusing on trying to incapacitate his opponents just yet. Instead he was worrying more about keeping them as far away from Setsuna as possible. To that end, he had released his weights after that first kick and was basically pushing his speed to their limits to knock each ninja that took even one step towards Setsuna as far back as he could. For the first few minutes it was working just fine. Then one of them got lucky.

Lee had sighted in on his next target and was rushing over to deliver his next blow. Unfortunately, he made the mistake of thinking about his next target before he hit his current one, giving his current target a small window to dodge his strike. Lee managed to recover in enough time to hit his follow on kick, but his small delay allowed one of the ninjas to make a move for Setsuna. A small part of Setsuna's mind wanted her to start running, but she stayed where she was, knowing that her trust in Lee was very well placed.

"Setsuna-san, get down!" Without a moment of hesitation, she dropped to the ground, and felt the sudden whoosh of air over her head as Lee's foot connected with the ninja's face, knocking him back. Setsuna was about to thank him but stopped, not wanting to distract him anymore. Besides, he had already left to continue playing guardian.

Eventually, the ninja's started to whittle down, some simply exhausted from constantly getting knocked down, some unconscious from getting hit just hard enough in the right spot. Lee himself was starting to lose a step. He still had not opened any of the gates just yet, due to the fact that if he didn't get everyone he would basically be left defenseless, which would leave Setsuna defenseless. Unfortunately, the enemy ninjas just did not stop coming, and even his energy would run out eventually. The ninjas noticed this and tried to use his growing exhaustion against him, spreading themselves out and advancing on Setsuna from all angles. Lee, tired as he was, still managed to push himself enough to keep her safe.

A fact that would prove to be his downfall. One of the ninjas decided to throw a brace of shuriken at Setsuna. Lee saw this and barely managed to put himself between her and the shuriken, each of them digging into his back and causing him to clench his teeth and fists in pain. "Lee-san!" Setsuna froze in place, fearing for his life at this point. Even if she understood that this was basically a given considering his choice of employment, it didn't make it any easier to take when something like this happened before her eyes.

When Lee looked back up at her, however, she was surprised to see him smiling. "No… sweat." He turned back around and prepared for the next attack.

Immediately, all ninjas tried to capitalize on the opening and attacked.

They wouldn't get very far.

"Sand Dome!"

Instantly a sphere made of sand appeared around Setsuna and Lee, shielding them from the attacking ninjas. More importantly, it protected them from the next attack.

"Ninpo; Kamaitachi!" A huge gust of chakra laced wind blew through the area, sent each ninja in its path away from the dome. Once it died down the dome was dropped and Lee and Setsuna were greeted with the sight of Gaara and Temari behind them.

"I swear, you Konoha nins just can't do anything without me to babysit you, can you?" Gaara spoke while walking towards the duo, smiling slightly as he did.

Lee, who had allowed a little of his exhaustion to show and dropped to his knee, laughed a little at this. "Sorry, Kazekage-sama. Not all of us have the luxury of showing up halfway through a fight."

"Well, looks like someone still has a little bit of energy left if you can crack jokes at my Kazekage." Temari commented on Lee's statement while reaching out to remove the shuriken in his back. "Good thing too, since it looks like they are coming back for more."

Her statement caused Lee to look over at the ninjas, who like she said were standing up again. "Then I suppose it is time I stopped holding back." Lee stood up and was preparing to head back into battle.

"Lee-san, are you sure you are ok? You don't have to push yourself so hard just for me." Setsuna had reached forward to grab his arm, not wanting him to keep on fighting just for her.

He spoke without even thinking about what was coming out of his mouth. "It's because of you that I am willing to push myself so hard. Don't worry, I will be ok, or else I will run from Suna to Konoha 100 times." Giving her a light smile he turned back to the ninjas, but was stopped by Gaara stepping in front of him.

"That will not be necessary."

"With all due respect Gaara-sama, I would like to finish what I started." Lee attempted to step forward again.

"Do you remember what happened the last time we had a conversation similar to this?" Gaara's head was now turned towards Lee, the right corner of his mouth turned up slightly.

Naturally, Lee backed up, not wanting to have another mouthful of sand.

Gaara then turned back towards the ninjas, many of whom recognized him as the Kazekage and immediately turned tail and ran. Those that remained, either blissfully ignorant as to who they were fighting, or arrogant enough to think that they could take him, ran forward to attack the new addition.

They wouldn't even have the chance to consider that maybe, just maybe, they should have gone with majority rules this day.

Raising up his right hand to shoulder level and bringing his arm across his body, Gaara started collecting sand from his gourd and hovering it above his hand. Once he had a sand ball roughly the size of a soccer ball, he struck. "Suna Ninpo: Sabaku Yaiba!" Quickly bringing his arm back across his body, the sand lashed out in a very large arc moving at a high speed. The enemy ninjas didn't even have enough time to register that the attack was coming before it passed cleanly through each of them. They were dead even before their upper torsos slid off of the rest of their body.

Once he was positive that the battle was over, he turned back to the group that he had just rescued. "Now then, I would assume that introductions are in order. Setsuna-san, I am Sabaku no Gaara, Godaime Kazekage of Sunagakure. This is my sister, Sabaku no Temari. We will be escorting you to the Wind Country capital."

Setsuna nodded her head towards the red headed Kazekage. "It is a pleasure to meet you, though I did not expect it to be under these circumstances." Saying this she looked back at Lee, who had been wrapped up by Temari during Gaara's demolishment of the enemy ninjas and had stopped bleeding.

"Yes, of course. Which reminds me; where is Uzumaki at?" I would assume that he was one of your escorts as well."

At this Lee's head shot up. "He and Tenten-san are still fighting Murota Shinn."

"LEE!" Everyone's head turned towards the familiar voice, and was more than a bit surprised to see a small army of Naruto's heading for them.

"Naruto-kun! What are you doing here? What about Shinn?"

"Don't worry, we are all clones. What happened- Oh, never mind. Hey Gaara. How ya been?" One of the Naruto's stepped forward to greet the Suna nins.

"Who is this Murota Shinn that you seem to be fighting right now?" Apparently Gaara was all business now.

"A missing nin from Kirigakure. Specialties include throwing weapons and poisons. He also uses this really annoying poison shield to keep us from getting close to him." Naruto's face then took on a sour look, and while Gaara knew what he was about to say, he would allow the man to admit this himself. "I can't believe I am admitting this, but I could probably use a little help with this one."

Gaara decided to tease him about this later. "Temari, go with the clones and lend him a little assistance. One of you will carry your injured friend, another one will carry Setsuna, and we will head to Sunagakure. Let's go."

Two of the clones stepped forward and loaded up Setsuna and Lee. Gaara and those two clones bounded off towards Suna, while Temari, surrounded by every remaining clone, headed back for the battle with Shinn. "By the way, did you guys happen to run into a group of ninjas that were running away from us?"

"Oh them? Yeah, they're all dead. Which reminds me….." At that the clone dispersed itself. A second clone spoke up next. "Now boss knows that Setsuna is safe.

"Good. Maybe now they can focus on killing this guy more. Now tell me more about this poison shield of his."

-With Naruto and Tenten-

The battle had not gone as well as Tenten would have liked.

Shinn's shield of poison nullified any chance of Naruto getting in close to cause any type of damage. His knowledge of throwing weapons nullified any hope she had of drawing him out of his shield, or even damaging him while he was still in it. And while she was certain that he was expelling chakra to keep the shield up, she knew for a fact that he would not allow himself to become depleted before he took them out.

Fortunately, a small ray of hope cast itself over the battle. "Oi, Tenten! Just got word from one of my clones! Setsuna is with Gaara!"

For the first time since this battle started, Tenten saw the smile that was on Shinn's face disappear. "Hear that? Whether or not we kill you, you still lose."

"Maybe so. Doesn't mean I won't try again later on. Besides, killing him is still an integral part of my plan as I explained. Losing the princess just means that I will have to delay my plans a bit."

"Maybe, but it also means that we don't have to worry about you getting to her for now. We don't have to hold back anymore." Smiling herself now, Tenten pulled out a scroll. One chakra assisted jump later she unfurled the scroll and launched her attack. "Weapon Summoning Art; Senbon Storm!" One hand sign was all it took to launch the attack towards Shinn, sending a simply ridiculous amount of senbon heading towards him from the sky.

Shinn sprang into action, backing away from the trajectory of the falling weapons. A few managed to get through to him, but caused minimal damage, the worst of which was a cut to his cheek. His evasion almost cost him and he barely had enough time to move out of the way of a Kunai that was thrown by Naruto.

That evasion allowed Tenten to complete her Senbon Storm attack, picking up the senbon by the chakra strings attached to them and hurling them towards Shinn. He was now in full retreat, backing away from the needles and dodging the occasional kunai from Naruto.

"Enough of this!" Gaining a small opening he threw a kunai towards Tenten. Naruto saw this, and while he was sure that she could have easily dodged the attack, he doubted that she would be able to get away from the contents of the small purple ball attached to it.

"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" One clone was created and performed the substitution technique with Tenten a fraction of a second before the ball exploded, engulfing the clone in a purple mist and dispelling it.

Once Tenten got her bearings, she looked towards Shinn again. "Thank you, but now we have lost the advantage we were gaining. I doubt he will let me use an attack like that again."

Naruto was halfway into nodding his own agreement when his eyebrows rose slightly. "You have a point there. Maybe now would be a good time to try out those kunai I gave you."

Tenten narrowed her eyes just a tad. Before they had left for the Suna border that morning, Naruto had given her a bunch of kunai, telling her not to use them until he said to. She had an idea as to what they really were, but did not see just how they would help. Still, Naruto had yet to let her down so she would trust his judgment. "Ok, did you have anything special planned?"

"Yep, listen up." He moved in close and explained his plan to her quickly. All the while Shinn was watching and waiting.

"Look, I have really enjoyed this little bit of exercise, but I think it's time for this little game to end." With that he rushed towards the two.

He almost missed the kunai that that Tenten sent hurtling towards him, but managed to catch the weapon right before it would have impaled itself into his right eye.

In hindsight, he would end up wishing he had simply dodged it. For as soon as he caught it, the kunai suddenly transformed into Naruto, kunai in hand, ready to bury it into his skull. Shinn, thinking quickly, tossed the boy back into the shield, not at all surprised when the clone suddenly exploded upon contact. What did surprise him was the fact that as soon as the smoke died down, another kunai was heading straight towards him. Learning from his last mistake, he dodged that one. Only to be met with another coming for him. Dodging that one led to him dodging another one, and then another. This continued until two came at him, one slower than the other. That one would transform into another Naruto with a weird looking ball in his hand. "Fuuton; Rasengan!" Shinn allowed a little bit of worry to cross his face, but not much. By the looks of it, he would have to get close for the attack to be effective. And his shield would prevent that from happening.

At least that was how he had envisioned it. What he hadn't counted on was the clone making the ball explode as soon as it made contact with his shield. The end result was the clone dispelling, the shield dispersing, and Shinn being blown back a few meters.

He wouldn't have much time to recover. As soon as he had risen to one knee he was greeted to a mass on Narutos charging at him. Quickly pulling out another of his poison balls he dropped it, made the hand sign, and formed another poison shield. This one came up in just enough time to shield him from every single clone, though the smoke from the clones dispersing still obscured his view.

Apparently, they had been counting on that. He had just a moment to react before the ground he had been previously standing on was riddled with kunai, shuriken, senbon needles, tomahawks, short swords, and all kinds of other weapons. Looking up he saw Tenten in the air, surrounded by a spiraling tower of twin scrolls. "Soushouryu," he muttered under his breath. He started to retreat backwards again, preparing another poison equipped kunai to stop her attacks.

Then he noticed the smile that adorned the face of the blonde haired Konoha nin.

His confusion must have shown because Naruto spoke. "Don't you know a distraction when you see one?"

He didn't even have time to be surprised. "Ninpo; Tatsumaki!" Almost immediately the weapons stopped coming, and Shinn was caught inside of a chakra laced tornado, blowing away the poison shield he had erected and lifting him into the air. He was thrown from the wind attack and right into a fist to his jaw, courtesy of the blonde haired ninja, which sent him higher into the air.

Even before his decent he was attempting to fish out another ball of poison, hoping to get at least something out of it, but was unfortunately stopped in his tracks. The cause of which being the sight of Tenten hovering over him, scroll already unfurled and aimed at him. "Game over. Senbon Storm!"

Dodging and attack like that at first had been easy for him. He was on the ground, with full mobility of his legs, and a great deal of distance between him and Tenten. Now, however, he was in the air with no way of avoiding the attack, which had come at point blank range. Add on to the fact that Tenten had shortened the diameter of the attack, keeping all of the needles as close to him as possible…

In short, he never had a chance.

He was dead before he even began to return to the ground, most of the needles piercing his vital organs, to include his brain and heart.

Tenten returned to the ground outside of the small circle of senbon needles, and approached her first real rival since joining the Anbu. She had to admit, despite the fact that she had wanted him dead ever since they had first crossed paths, she had to give him credit. He had pushed her to better herself, to become a better ninja than she had thought she could be. Yes, she may have needed help to finally put him down, but that was what made her a better ninja. Putting her own personal feeling aside for the better good. Would she have preferred to do it by herself? Maybe. Would she accept this small victory? Any day of the week.

"You know, Naruto, you could have finished him off yourself after he was taken out of Temari-san's attack."

"I know. I also know how much this one meant to you. You deserved the last hit for this one."

Tenten nodded her head and took a deep breath. She had finally finished this chapter in her ninja career and was ready to move on to the next. "Naruto, make some clones and bring his body back to Konoha so he can be pronounced dead. We can collect his bounty when we get back. Right now, let's go ahead and get to Suna."

Naruto complied without saying a word. Within minutes, the senbon were removed from his body, loaded up onto one of the clone's back, and both groups headed off towards their next destinations.

-End-

10,000 words. Don't ask me what happened but….. wow. Most words I have ever written for anything.

Well, to be honest I wanted to end this chapter about 6,300 words into it, but my muse kept nagging at me to not let in end there. And unfortunately she is quite the excellent nagger.

In all honesty, I felt good giving Tenten a little more time in the spotlight. Of the minor/major characters of the Narutoverse, she is definitely one of my favorites. But I do need your opinions as to how I did with her so please, lay it on me.

Sorry I couldn't give Temari more dialogue in this chapter. Will try to make it up in the next chapter.

Honest opinions on the attack Gaara used. I personally like it.

That's all for now. R&R&have a nice day.


	23. Author's Note 2

Author's Note

Goddamnit! I am so sorry for not updating this story for over ONE YEAR!

A lack of idea's began my unfortunate departure from the fanfiction arena. Just when I had something worth writing about, I was unfortunately struck by a lack of internet. So I decided that I would go ahead and write it out, get it ready for my eventual return. Then my external hard drive, where I keep my documents saved, reformatted. Needless to say, my luck has been less than stellar.

But enough about that. I am back, at least for now, and I am almost ready to post my next chapter. The idea is in my head, albeit I am still trying to order them a little bit more coherently. Plus I am still making a couple of adjustments so I can at least try to jump straight into my next chapter.

I have also spent time trying to read other stories, seeing what else I can take from some of the other authors on this site as well as others. One story I have really started to get into is called 'After the Pain'. It is located on Adultfanfiction, but interestingly enough, no sex. Implied rape though but still, it is quite the interesting story in my mind.

That's all I have for now. Hope to see your reviews soon. And Thank you for your patience, those of you who are still here.

David Jaxon


	24. Self Before Service

Chapter 21 Self Before Service

"Ok Naruto, what gives?"

Temari considered herself to be a no-nonsense type of person. If there was something wrong within her influence, she wanted to know about it and wanted it fixed as soon as possible. Because of this, she was not too fond of being left out of a situation, whether or not she could do something about it. Even her own brother kept her in the know when it came to business within the closed doors of the Kazekage's office. So you could imagine just how irked she was when her brother suddenly, and without warning or reason, told her that they were going to the Wind-Fire border. She tried to pry whatever reason she could out of her brother during their trip to the border, but her now particularly talkative, and frustratingly sarcastic, younger brother was as tightlipped as ever. Her anger was building to a boiling point when they had come across a sight that caused her anger to fade immediately.

While she did not immediately recognize the female, it did not take long to figure out who the man in the green jumpsuit was. Of even greater concern to her, however, were the ninjas that were attacking them. However that concern was handled quite easily, and she was kneeling down behind Lee, applying a quick bandage wrap on his back, something to keep his wounds closed up until they could give him proper medical attention. Once that was done, and Gaara was finished dispatching the other ninjas, she turned her attention to the female member of the group, and it didn't take long to realize a few thing things.

The first was that this was their expected guest from a few days ago, something that Gaara had actually bothered to talk about. She was well aware of the accord the Daimyo's of Wind and Fire had come to, and had been expecting to escort the woman to the Wind country capital. Gaara had been in contact with the Hokage once the expected time had come and needless to say, everyone was just a bit worried once it was found out that she had been captured. The fact that she was here now meant three things. One, a rescue mission had been launched. Two, the rescue mission had been a success. Three, Konoha had decided to continue with the planned transport of the girl to Wind Country. The fact that Gaara had apparently not been informed about any of this before last night, and that she had not been informed about this at all, meant that only one ninja could have been involved.

Almost on cue, the army of Naruto made their presence known, yelling for the green clad ninja in front of her. A quick conversation later and she was heading back with the hoard of blonde ninjas to deal with Murota Shinn. After a brief description from one of the clones of Shinn and his abilities, she had broached an idea to the boy. "First thing we have to do is clear out his shield. From what you told me, it is basically just a poison cloud that he is controlling with his chakra. If you can disrupt the chakra controlling the poison, then he's a dead man. Got any wind attacks?" In answer to her question, the clone smiled, and dispelled.

Shortly after that another clone came up to him. "Ok, boss has an idea. You were right, blowing away his shield was easy, but he reacts too fast for either of us to get in a finishing blow. If you can get him into the air, we can take it from there." Temari nodded her head and sped up, catching sight of the three. She made eye contact with the two Konoha ninjas and set up, while Shinn was slowly backing up towards her, completely unaware of her presence. By the time he was made aware of her presence, it was too late. A chakra infused twister, a jumping uppercut, and a simply ridiculous number of senbon needles later and it was over. Minutes later she was on her way back to Suna with Naruto and Tenten.

Now that they had a bit of down time, Temari could do a little bit of thinking, and a thought came up that honestly took her by surprise. She was brought back to the scene that had spurred this on, Lee protecting the Fire princess. She had noticed, albeit a bit subconsciously, how the girl was acting around him. She had put it off as just the girl showing concern for her protector at the time, but some of the glances from both sides seemed to last a little longer than she though necessary. She wanted answers now, and fortunately she had the perfect target for her inquiry.

Naruto turned to the one sand sibling he had spent probably the least amount of time getting to know. Gaara was an obvious one considering their similar conditions, and he and Kankuro had developed a sort of friendship after the defeat of Akatsuki. He had overseen a couple of Gaara's training sessions with Naruto and they managed to find time afterwards to talk, always ending their conversations the same way. Kankuro would say his goodbyes and Naruto would say, "I still don't like you." Just like their meeting during the prelims.

Temari, however, had not really found the time to sit down and speak with Naruto. Well, at least not when there wasn't some sort of life threatening situation at hand. Most of what she knew about him was what she had heard about him from Gaara and Shikamaru. Naruto was in a similar boat, most of what he knew about her coming from her brothers and boy friend. He had wanted a chance to talk with her but could never really find a time when they were both free. Well, they had some now, so it was better than nothing. "What do you mean 'what gives'?"

"I mean this whole situation. Up until last night, the only thing I knew about this was that the princess had been captured. No one came to Gaara and told him that you were launching a rescue mission for her, and apparently, not even Gaara knew that the mission was successful or that you were on your way here with her until last night. So what gives?"

"Hey, don't look at me for not keeping you guys informed. Baa-chan can take the blame for this one. To be honest I am just as surprised as you are that Gaara didn't even know about my little operation. He almost tore my clone to pieces for, as he put it, 'once again stealing his chance at killing off ninjas'." Naruto dropped back to move next to Temari, while Tenten took point.

"Wait, what are you talking about? When did you speak with Gaara?" Temari was understandably confused about this.

"Last night. I sent a clone to Suna to talk to Gaara. I was just going to get his advice about a situation that has come up but I ended up giving him all of the details of my little mission as well."

Temari cursed to herself, swearing to find some way to make Gaara pay for this. Then she returned to the question she wanted to ask. "Does your little issue have anything to do with what I just saw between Lee and the girl?"

At this, Tenten's head snapped around to look behind her, her attention now on Naruto. "You told Gaara about this? Why?"

Temari interjected herself into this conversation before these two started arguing. "So there is something between them?"

Naruto sighed. 'Why me?' "When we saved Setsuna, she and Lee hit it off immediately. The night before we left Konoha to bring her here, Tenten told me that Lee admitted to having feelings for her, even though he knew he didn't have any right to since she was suppose to be married. The problem came up, however, when Tenten found out that Setsuna was eavesdropping on them. Not only did she know Lee had feelings for her, but she admitted to having feelings for Lee. I don't think I need to explain just how much of a shit storm this could end up being. Unfortunately, due to the time constraints I couldn't bring this up with Baa-chan, so I did the next best thing. I sent a clone to Gaara, to see if there was a chance that he could think of something."

Tenten softened just a bit at that. "I guess I can't argue with that. Just, why didn't you tell me anything? I am team leader right now after all."

"I didn't want to bring anything up until Gaara did. I still don't know if we can do anything, and the last thing I wanted to do was to give false hope. Odds are we could be knocked back to where we started."

Temari nodded her head and started thinking again. "So, Lee goes all love sick on the Daimyo's daughter of all people, and she likes him back even though she knows she has to marry a man she hasn't met before in order to secure a formal alliance between our countries. Ugh, why can't you Konoha ninjas make things easy for us?"

Naruto couldn't help but laugh at this. "What can I say? We have a certain charm to whatever we do. So you got any ideas for this?"

A sigh gave him the general idea of what her answer would be. "Even if I did, not like I can do much about it. This is going to have to be between Gaara and our Daimyo."

Tenten sighed and turned to face Naruto again. "Looks like we are at the end of our rope. Whatever happens next, it's out of our hands."

Naruto nodded solemnly, but the look in his eyes mirrored that of Tenten. They may have understood, but it didn't mean they had to like it.

-Konoha-

As they approached the gates of Konoha, the Naruto clones decided to think about their situation. Here they were, about to enter the gates of their village, with the mangled hole-ridden body of a missing nin. Granted, the ninjas of the village probably wouldn't mind. It wouldn't be the first time most of them had seen anything like this. The civilians, however, were a different issue altogether. They figured that it would probably be best if they didn't traumatize the people of his village. So, after checking in with the gate guard they shunshined over to the village hospital and quickly made his way down to the morgue, asking a receptionist to call the Hokage.

Fifteen minutes later, the door opened and Tsunade walked in, her eyes immediately settling on the remains of what could have been a person that was laid out on the table. "How in the hell did you manage this?"

"This is Tenten's handy work." The less bloody Naruto stepped forward to address the Hokage. "Shinn was waiting for us a little bit before the border, so Tenten and I stayed back to fight while Lee took Setsuna the rest of the way. Unfortunately, he was prepared for that as well. Had a lot of other ninjas waiting at the border. Fortunately, Gaara and Temari showed up. Bottom line, ninjas are dead, Setsuna is safe, and Shinn is that." He nodded his head towards the lump of flesh that used to be Murota Shinn once he was finished.

The Hokage nodded her head and turned to Naruto. "God job. Once the others get back I'll make sure to reward them appropriately. You did some excellent work out there Naruto. You deserve a little something as well."

Naruto was almost ready to jump with glee. Then he caught sight of the smile that dominated the face of the Hokage. Suddenly, there was a very deep chill in the air.

"NA-RU-TO!" From out of the shadows a very visibly pissed off Yamanaka Ino came forth. Naruto had been sure that he had seen her at her absolute angriest, and when she was like that she almost looked as if she could burst into flames at a moment's notice. This, however, was nothing like that. If anything, the absolute ice cold stare she was giving him was even worse than anything else he could have imagined from the woman.

"I-I-I-I-I-Ino." Yep, fiery Ino did not make him stutter like that. "Wait, l-l-l-l-let me exp-p-p-plain."

"Save it!" Her voice was low and threatening, and he did not like that one bit.

"Hold on, Ino."

"Too late." She lunged forward and grabbed him by the throat, knocking him on his back and straddling his chest. "I'll bet you thought you were being really funny, didn't you? Sending me and Kiba off with that clone without telling us. Kiba was still angry at you because of the Sound Army thing, now he wants to kill you. But we both know that would be too easy so now, we are just gonna make you wish that we did. So, you have anything to say for yourself before I send you upstairs?"

Naruto, barely able to breathe, managed to turn his head towards her and choke out, "Yeah just one thing." And then he did something that took Ino by surprise slightly. He smiled. Weakly due to the lack of oxygen, but he smiled. "See ya when I get back." And with that the clone dispelled, leaving Ino clutching at nothing but air.

Tsunade stared at the scene for just a moment, not at all believing what she just saw. Then she dropped her head into one of her hands, shook her head and sighed. "You idiot."

Ino had been frozen ever since the clone dispelled. She had him right in her hands. He was right here. But once again he had left her with nothing more than a dispelled clone, and this time she had no one to take her anger out on. Anger which was now slowly rising even higher than before. Clutching her hands into fists she screamed to the ceiling. "NAAAAAAAARUUUUUUUUUTOOOOOOOO OOOOOOO!"

-Suna-

"Seriously Naruto, are you some kind of masochist, or are you doing this just to see how mad you can get her before she well and truly snaps?"

Tenten's question barely registered to the blonde haired ninja, as he was currently trying his absolute hardest to keep walking while maintaining his laughter. He had just received the memories of his clone and relayed the results to his partners, after he made sure that there weren't really any hands around his neck.

While Tenten just sighed, already used to this, Temari was staring at the boy with a look that was equal parts amused, afraid, and annoyed, as if both corners of her mouth were trying to decide just how they were supposed to react to this man. While she had to admit that the whole prank aspect was starting to get a little old, she could not deny that a part of her was somewhat entertained by his antics. And another, slightly rebellious part of her, was actually willing to encourage this particular side of Naruto. 'Why can't Shika be just a fraction as spontaneous as Naruto? Life would be so much more fun if he was.'

Once he had somewhat calmed down again he turned to Tenten. "Oh come on. You really think I am going to let a little something like fear of death stop me from doing things like this? It was the perfect set up, and you should have seen the look on her face. Priceless."

Tenten just sighed. "You say that now, but eventually you will have to go back."

"Yeah, but by that time she won't be as mad and I'll get off easy. Besides, I was planning on stopping by the flower shop here and picking her up some of those roses I got her. As powerful as she is, everyone has a weakness, and those roses are hers."

"Wait, those were for Ino? So you two really got together then?" Temari had known about Naruto and Ino's relationship since their visit to Suna a while back when they were hunting Ganju, but at the time they weren't actually together, so this was news to her.

"Yeah. Well we finally got together a bit after that. How did you know about the roses?" Naruto turned to Temari, his breath finally even once again.

"Gaara came up to me all of the sudden and asked me about a friend of mine that runs our flower shop. Said he needed the most exotic flower she could find. Once I showed them to him he took them and left. Never found out what he did with them until now." Now she was looking at Naruto in a new light. As big of a prankster as he was, it seemed he could be quite the romantic when he wanted to. Once again she found herself wishing that her own boyfriend could be just a bit more like Naruto. Mentally she shook her head. Maybe if they had meet a little earlier, before either of them had been taken, she wouldn't mind having thoughts about him, but it was too late now.

Naruto nodded, but before his next thought could even begin its trip to his mouth, a gust of sand marked the arrival of the Kazekage. "Naruto, took you long enough."

"Yeah, yeah. Say, how's Lee doing?" Naruto immediately got back to business, remembering why they were here in the first place

"He is fine. He is recovering right now." Gaara paused for a moment before continuing. "Lady Setsuna has not left his side for a minute." The way he brought it up caused a nerve in all of the gathered ninjas to tighten up just a bit.

"Yeah, I figured." Naruto sighed and looked at the ground for a moment. "Don't suppose you were able to come up with anything were you?"

Gaara stared at him for a moment, and to anyone else it would have meant nothing. But Naruto knew better. "Temari knows. I told her about it on the way here."

Nodding his head Gaara continued. "The Daimyo's son will be here tomorrow. I will speak to him then and figure out what would be the best course of action. For now though, try to cast it out of your mind. We have rooms for you and your friend ready, so go ahead and get some rest." Seeing as how it was nearly nightfall that seemed like a decent idea. "Temari, you come with me. Now that you know, I may need your assistance with this matter." Nodding her head Temari started to follow after the Kazekage, leaving Tenten and Naruto with a wave.

Tenten and Naruto stood there for a moment. Tenten was in a bit of turmoil inside, not liking the fact that this was now completely out of her hands, and yet knowing that there was nothing more that she could do about it.

Naruto, not so much. "So, Tenten, you hungry? Suna has a very good Ramen place." After a few seconds of silence he turned to look at his partner to see what was wrong, and caught sight of the look that she was giving him. In response he shrugged and explained, "What? Gaara said to let him handle it, so he will handle it. No point in worrying ourselves about this anymore, so let's eat."

"I swear, Naruto, you are just impossible sometimes." Even though her head was shaking from side to side, her legs were already moving the rest of her body to follow him. _'Well, I am pretty hungry.' _

-Next Day-

Gaara never got bothered by much. His emotions as of late had managed to stay within a very small scope. He was either wholly impassive, his normal look, or his now trademark amused smirk. The truly frustrating part about this was that no one really knew what was going on behind those two faces of his. Was he contemplating something, was he listening, was he considering how his next opponent would look impaled on a pike made of sand? There was no way of truly knowing with Gaara.

Except when he was talking with his country's royalty.

Whenever he was speaking with his Daimyo he always made the attempt to look as if he was actually listening to the man, and that same truly amazing show of respect extended to his immediate family. Though, he had to seriously work at it when talking to the man's wife. She was a sweet woman, but she could just talk forever and not say a single relevant word.

Thankfully, their son was much easier to talk to. He was respectful without managing to seem like a pushover, and he could get quite passionate when he talked about certain subjects. When he had first heard about the impending marriage, he was just a bit skeptical about it, considering that a. it was something that was happening because of circumstances outside of his control, and b. he didn't really know the woman he was supposed to marry. His opinions changed a bit when he started to correspond with Setsuna. Now it didn't seem like a complete disregard for his own feelings but still…..

Gaara smiled as he thought about this. 'Let's see if we can use this to our advantage. See if we can get everyone to go home happy.'

His impassive face returned upon his brother reaching his visual range, followed closely by a young man that Gaara recognized as the Daimyo's son, Takenaka Kanda. He was a rather tall man, standing about half a head taller than Kankuro. His features were relatively normal, allowing him to switch between stern and kind in about the amount of time it would take Gaara to raise the corner of his mouth to assume his smirk. He was dressed in a semi casual sleeveless robe with a pair of pants. He was currently darting his chocolate brown eyes back and forth between the different sights of the village. Gaara understood, considering that this was the first time inside of a ninja village. Once he made it up to the Kazekage, Gaara nodded his head towards the man, which for him was the equivalent to a bow. "Kanda-sama, a pleasure to have you here." He turned his head towards Kankuro, who nodded and disappeared.

Kanda, already used to this, did not even blink at the sudden disappearance of his escort. "Kazekage-san, good to see you too." He walked up beside Gaara and they both started towards the Kazekage's tower. "Your brother couldn't give me and details, possibly because you didn't have anything new to report, but is it safe to assume that Setsuna has arrived safely?"

"It is. She is out and about with two of the Konoha ninjas that escorted her here. If you would like, we could see if we can find them." Gaara spoke while keeping his eyes on the man, not at all unsure of his heading as they walked.

"No, it is fine. I can always speak with her when she returns. I have nothing but time on my hands." He crossed his arms behind his back while he walked, looking around at the people of the village. "It is relieving to know that she is unharmed. My father was driving his staff nuts with how worried he was about this whole situation."

"I see." Gaara had noticed how he had failed to mention his own state of worry over the girl, and decided to investigate just a bit. "And what about yourself? Were you not at all concerned for the safety of this woman?"

Kanda sighed just a bit before turning back to Gaara. "Well, of course. I would never wish any harm upon her. But seeing as how there wasn't really much else I could do, I decided to not let it bother me as much as him. Everything was going to work out, and it did."

"… I see. That is a surprising revelation, coming from you. I would have expected you to be even more concerned than your father was."

Kanda sighed again, longer and louder than his last one. "Truth be told, he wants this to work out a lot more than I do. With you, you may not have noticed it, but when it comes to those of equal standing as his own, my father can be a bit of a push over. When he got back from meeting with the Daimyo of Fire, he claimed that they had reached a consensus with the whole marriage deal. Truth be told, this was more or less about what the Fire Daimyo wanted than them reaching a compromise."

Gaara's nonexistent eyebrows shot up at this. "He let the Daimyo bully him into arranging the marriage?"

The loud bark of laughter caught the attention of everyone in earshot, and let the Kazekage know that his guess had been off. "No, not really. It was a bit more complicated than that. My father was ok with the alliance no matter what, conditions or no. The Fire Daimyo, however, won my father over with sympathy rather than brute force. Because of the death of his wife, and his unwillingness to marry again, He was not exactly willing to allow his little girl to take his position without a strong partner. So he requested that we formalize the alliance with a marriage between me and Setsuna. My father, mindful of my own feelings about such a matter, was immediately won over by the story, so here we are."

Gaara was intrigued, but wanted to confirm his suspicions. "So if the Fire Daimyo had not brought up the marriage, then there is a chance that the alliance would have gone through?" Plus, this was news to him.

"Mhmm. We are on very good terms with Fire, and the alliance was already in the works. This is more or less just a formality."

Gaara let out a small smirk at that. This could work out after all. "Kanda-sama, what do you say we take a trip over to the training grounds? You spoke about wanting to see a ninja in action, and I believe my sister will be starting her own routine fairly soon."

Kanda perked up at that. "Really? That would be great. It's been a while since I last saw Temari-san. Hope we get a chance to talk afterwards"

Gaara nodded his head, knowing full well that he meant nothing explicit about his sister. He had heard about his crush on her, and how Temari had put him down after it came out. Kanda was not the type to chase after the unattainable so he was comfortable with leaving him with her.

With that he led Kanda to the training grounds, hoping that Temari would already have her set of pieces in place.

-Training Grounds-

Lee, like most ninjas, did not believe in convalescence. At least not when the injury was relatively minor.

So it should come as no surprise that the day after he had been exhausted trying to defend Setsuna, which led to a kunai being lodged into his back, he was already up and about, in the Suna training area, making sure he had not lost a step since yesterday.

He had to admit, looking back on his performance yesterday, he couldn't help but be impressed with himself. He wasn't sure about numbers; after all, he was a bit more preoccupied with ensuring none of them reached his charge. But it still made him feel good that he had managed to hold them off as long as he did. Still, he had ultimately failed in his assigned task, as he could not keep her safe from them without the help of Gaara and Temari.

In truth, this hurt twice as bad because of his own personal training style to push himself harder in failure, and because of his own personal feelings for the girl. He had promised himself that he would keep her safe no matter what, and unfortunately he had failed. Granted everything turned out alright in the end, but still, what more could he have done? He had already determined that opening the gates was out, due to the toll it would have taken on his body, but was there anything he could have done? However, instead of trying to find an answer in bed, he came out and did the one thing he felt most comfortable doing while he was thinking; training.

And unfortunately, he came to a simple conclusion. He had done everything he could, it just wasn't enough. This revelation had the expected effect on Lee. He would just have to train himself harder. No matter what, he would ensure that if the time ever came up again-

Unfortunately, he had to cut himself off before he went any farther. All of this was irrelevant. He was never going to see the girl again once he was done here. They had accomplished their assigned mission to get her to Suna, and now she was going to be married off to the Wind Daimyo's son. Maybe he would see her again for the ceremony, but any personal interaction between the two was effectively over once he left Suna. The more he thought on this, the angrier he got, and the harder he trained. It was getting to the point where he was quickly running out of training dummies to punch and kick.

"You know, you could be just a bit more considerate. Other ninjas would like to use this place to train as well." The voice managed to pull him out of his semi rage induced training rampage, and he turned to see Temari standing off to the side, leaning against her fan. "Sheesh, I'd sure hate to be whatever the hell it was you thought they were."

Lee sighed and raised a hand to wipe the sweat from his face. Because the training area was enclosed, he had not seen her coming. He had been too wrapped up in his thoughts to notice her standing there for however long she had been. Hell, he would have probably not noticed a child running up to him in his state of mind. "Sorry, didn't mean to wreck the place. I'll leave." He started to head for the exit, but was stopped when Temari placed a hand on his shoulder.

"I didn't say I wanted you to leave. Instead, why don't you focus some of that energy on someone who can fight back?" At his look, she shrugged. "It's been a while since I've had the chance to spar against someone from Konoha. Well, someone who isn't Shikamaru, and I figured I might as well catch you while you are still here. And don't give me anything about just getting out of the hospital. The way you were moving, you don't give a damn about how long you have been out."

Lee attempted to speak up, but stopped and realized that he didn't have a reason not to accept. In fact, she had a point. Maybe this would help him work out some of his frustrations. Nodding his head he set himself across from her and settled into a fighting stance, with her following suit.

The fight between the two, and with the way they were going at each other it was clear that this was already beyond a simple spar, was pretty evenly match, which surprised Temari. Then she considered how long he may have already been out her, along with the fact that maybe he was still compensating for the kunai injury, and it made a little bit of sense.

A few minutes into the fight, seemingly out of nowhere, she decided to start talking. "So what's on your mind?"

"Nothing." He kept it short, not wanting this to get any farther than it already had.

He should have known that he couldn't even force himself to be that lucky. "Ah I see. So it has something to do with Setsuna huh?"

Her statement caused him to miss his next kick and he was rewarded with a sweep of his legs out from under him by her fan. He landed on his hands and rolled away from her, getting back to his feet. "Looks like I was right on the button."

Lee charged at her and unleashed a devastating round house kick, but was easily blocked by Temari's closed fan. "How do you know about that?"

"Naruto told me about it. Of course, I had noticed something was weird beforehand but Naruto confirmed it for me." She pushed his leg back with her fan and used the momentum to swing around and bring her fan around, opening it in mid swing and blowing him backwards.

"Then you know why I have spent a good hour or so completely wrecking your training grounds." He charged back in and this time decided to go low. His sweep was blocked but instead of allowing her time to counter attack, he came back around, kicking at her from all angles.

Even though she was having quite the difficult time keeping up with his strikes, she was still keeping up, and she was still capable of speaking to him during his onslaught. "Actually no I don't. See, I still can't tell just why this is bothering you so much. She's getting married soon, so as a ninja, you should be able to just say goodbye and walk away. What makes her so special? And if you even think about commenting on the fact that she is royalty then you may as well just give it up now."

"It's none of your business. If you can't figure it out then leave it alone." Lee tried a simple disarm tactic. If he could get the fan away from her then this fight was over. Unfortunately, he quickly found that he would have had an easier time taking a newborn away from the mother.

"It has something to do with Setsuna, which means it could possibly affect the alliance. I want to know."

"It won't affect the alliance." Lee jumped into the air and tried an axe kick, but was blocked easily.

Temari took this as a good sign. It meant that her words were starting to affect him if he was going for moves as easy to block as that one. "Are you sure? The way you were acting around her, I would imagine that there was something more."

"Temari, drop it." Now she knew she was on to something. It was the first time he had addressed her without the honorific.

"There is something more, isn't there."

"I don't want to talk about it"

"Why not?"

"Because it can't happen!" With that he let loose a vicious straight kick, which while it was blocked by her fan, caused her to skid back on her feet quite a distance. She recovered just in time to block his next attack.

Lee's attacks were starting to grow fiercer, as his strikes fed off of his emotions. "Do you know what it is like to be me? Yes I have more friends than I know what to do with, but what about love?" The question caught Temari off guard a bit, and one of his strikes went through. She recovered quickly though and they were back at it, with Lee continuing his narrative. "I recognize that my quirks may keep me from meeting someone outside of our little circle of friend that would willingly accept me for who I am, but sometimes it gets hard seeing everyone else find love, while I am still stuck on my own." He was on a roll now and Temari was now retreating backwards just to keep up with his strikes.

"With Setsuna, though, she accepted me almost immediately. She is kind, and smart, and beautiful, and she accepted who I am almost immediately. I can't just forget about that. How many times in my life am I going to meet anyone who doesn't already know me that would be willing to even entertain the idea of spending time with me? I know she is supposed to marry this Kanda guy, but….."

Temari, hearing every word, decided to focus on the fight for a moment now. Jumping up and over his head, she planted the end of her fan behind him and used her momentum to perform a crescent kick, which Lee barely managed to dodge. "So it is true. You really do want to be with this woman."

"Yes, happy now? You got it out of me." Recovering his balance from his dodge, he was back on the attack, Launching a kick that was parried, but following up with a back fist that met Temari's raised arm, causing her to wince a bit.

"But even you have to admit that with your current profession, the two of you would not be able to last very long. You have to stay in the village for missions, while she is required to stay in the capital so she can run her country. Long distance relationships, with very little time spent together, combined with the fact that you could die at a moment's notice, don't exactly lead to either of you being happy for long."

"Then I would resign as a ninja!" He said it so fast that she didn't even think that she had heard him right. This allowed Lee's next kick to land, knocking her back. Getting to her feet, she stared at the boy for a moment.

"You have spent your entire career trying to convince people that a man without the ability to freely manipulate chakra can be a great ninja. Now you would be willing to give all of that progress up just to be with her?"

"Without a second thought." Lee stood tall before her, seemingly not willing to relent on his position.

Deciding to change her approach a bit she asked, "You are willing to risk quite a lot for this woman, but do you even know if she feels the same way? I mean, think for a moment. What would you do if she said no?"

Lee stopped and though for a moment. It hadn't even crossed his mind that there was a possibility he could be willing to do all of this for nothing. "… I don't know."

Inwardly, Temari was smiling wide. 'Perfect.' "I see." She sheathed her fan and turned away. "Well, I'm beat. I'm gonna go and get something to eat. Stay if you want but try not to damage the area any more than you already have. Like I said, other people will want to use it after you."

Lee nodded his head, but remained still even as Temari left. He had been given quite a bit to think about, specifically what would he do if Setsuna rejected him? She was royalty after all. What chance did he, a mere ninja, have with her? Yes they had so much fun that day in Konoha, but what about after that? What could he offer her outside of… what he was?

Even as Lee stood in the middle of the training ground, another person stood hidden, yet with a front row seat to the action, and the conversation. A deep sigh passed his lips before he walked off, heading for the Kazekage tower. _'It would seem that I need to have a talk with my fiancé when she gets back.' _

-End-

Authors Notes

Finally! This has been eating away at my brain like a goddamn Botfly. So glad to finally have it out

Yes I know my chapter count is out of whack, trying to fix that now.

Nothing too big to announce just yet so stay tuned. I hope to have the next chapter soon so until then…..

R&R&have a nice day


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